How best to resolve the federal deadlock

The Union government will have to explore a new set of federal instruments to address the delimitation conundrum

- Yamini Aiyar

For weeks now, the Union government and Tamil Nadu have been locked in battle. At stake is the delimitation "sword" that will reduce proportional representation of the five southern states in the Lok Sabha. Tamil Nadu is leading the charge and India is on the brink of a federal deadlock.

The political rhetoric has oscillated from the absurd (suggesting couples should have more children!) to the expected (an all-party meeting held in Tamil Nadu demanded another 30-year freeze). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with its penchant for double-engine, "one-nationism" politics, has exacerbated the problem. By withholding education funds and accusing Tamil Nadu of dishonesty and uncivility in Parliament over the language dispute, it has now crossed federal red lines. But its most egregious act is in its refusal to offer reasons for delaying the 2021 census. On the federal question, the Union government is currently short of credibility. It should be no surprise, therefore, that states ruled by parties other than the BJP or its allies, with Tamil Nadu at the forefront, are now raising the political ante.