E-Paper
Naveen Patnaik accepts Stalin’s invitation to attend Oppn meet on delimitation
Patnaik, who met Tamil Nadu minister TRP Raja and MP Dayanidhi Maran in Bhubaneswar, expressed his concerns over the delimitation process.
Former Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said he will attend the March 22 meeting called by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin to discuss delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.
Patnaik, who met Tamil Nadu industries minister TRB Raja and MP Dayanidhi Maran at his residence in Bhubaneswar, expressed his concerns over the delimitation process and agreed to be part of the Joint Action Committee against the Centre’s proposal.
“The DMK leaders invited the BJD president to the meeting (over the issue) in Chennai on March 22. Patnaik has also expressed our party’s concern regarding the matter,” senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said.
Delimitation refers to the redrawing of electoral boundaries based on census data, with the next major revision scheduled after 2026, raising fears among southern states of losing political representation due to slower population growth compared to northern states.
After the meeting, Maran said Patnaik shared the DMK’s concerns and fears that unfair delimitation will not be good for states.
“There are seven states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Punjab – which will be directly affected by delimitation; our share will reduce, and the share of the northern states will increase. Because these states are developing states and control the population, we have to pay the price for it. He has said that he will attend the meeting on March 22. He will fight with us,” Maran said after the meeting.
The DMK leaders would also meet Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das and others during their two-day visit to the state. The DMK is not only reaching out to Opposition leaders but also those within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, like Chandrababu Naidu, on this issue.
On the row over the three-language issue within the National Education Policy, Maran asked if it was fair for those in South India to learn three languages while in North India, children learn only one language.
“Is this fair? If our children want to learn Hindi or Malayalam, they are free to do so. This is the RSS ideology of making the country a Hindi land... This is not right,” he said.
