Bhubaneshwar, April 16 -- Voicing strong reservation about the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the Lok Sabha strength from 543 to 850 members, BJD President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik has urged the parliamentarians to safeguard the State's interests amid the proposed Amendment linking women's reservation with delimitation.
Patnaik, the five-time chief minister, in a letter to all the MPs of the State, irrespective of party affiliation, "to carefully consider the broader implications of the proposed Amendment".
"It is imperative that we seek clarity, safeguards, and, if necessary, a decoupling of women's reservation from the delimitation process. We should only support the Amen...