Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Saturday said the state’s parliamentary representation must remain completely untouched, asserting that the state's place in the Parliament must be preserved.
His comments came during a meeting with the state’s MPs to formulate a united response to the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise, even as major regional parties DMK and AIADMK stayed away from the meeting.
Speaking about the consensus reached at the all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Vijay, Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram said Tamil Nadu’s parliamentary representation must remain completely untouched, news agency ANI reported.
The meeting, held at Kalaivanar Arangam, was attended by around 21 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, primarily from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK and IUML.
The participating leaders unanimously agreed to strongly oppose any population-based redrawing of constituencies that could diminish Tamil Nadu’s political representation.
“This is an issue beyond party politics. This is an issue that concerns Tamil Nadu’s rights and Tamil Nadu’s representation in the Parliament of India. Tamil Nadu can’t be diminished in the Parliament of India. Tamil Nadu’s place in the Parliament of India must be preserved. Any delimitation, whatever might be that formula, whether it is based on population or a uniform increase, will diminish our role in Parliament, and that can’t be allowed,” Chidambaram told reporters, according to ANI.
He stressed that this issue was beyond party politics and urged all parties to speak in unison for the rights of Tamil Nadu.
{{/usCountry}}He stressed that this issue was beyond party politics and urged all parties to speak in unison for the rights of Tamil Nadu.
{{/usCountry}}"We discussed the repercussions of delimitation, in whichever manner it takes place. We are very clear that we want the Parliament to be frozen at 543 and Tamil Nadu's representation to be guaranteed at 39," he said.
Chidambaram further shared that of Tamil Nadu's MPs from both Houses, about 21 attended and were unanimous that the state's seat share could not be altered.
"Our representation in the Parliament can't be diminished. Any kind of alteration and delimitation, either on the basis of population or on a proportionate increase, will be resisted. We want the Parliament to be frozen at 543, and the distribution among the states to be preserved as it is, which means Tamil Nadu will have 39 members in a house of 543," he said, adding that a larger Parliament would be an "ineffective Parliament" and would not serve the state well.
Congress MP Jyothimani echoed the same sentiments, saying that delimitation will not only be destructive to Tamil Nadu but India. He stressed that the Centre should be stopped at any cost.
"We have deeply discussed all the issues concerning the delimitation, like how it will be destructive to Tamil Nadu as well as to India. This should be stopped at any cost. That's the commitment we are all having today... Hope that a better sense prevails across all political parties... Hope they (DMK and AIADMK) will understand the gravity of the situation, and they will also come along with all of us," she said.
DMK, AIADMK face criticism for absence
Majority of MPs in Tamil Nadu decided to opt out of the all-party MPs' meeting convened by Vijay to discuss the issue of delimitation.
Out of the 57 MPs from Tamil Nadu, only 20 were expected to attend the session, with 37 choosing to stay away from the meeting, according to ANI.
The ruling DMK has boycotted the meeting, with all 30 of its MPs absent. The main opposition AIADMK also skipped the event, with its four MPs staying away. The PMK, MNM and DMDK have also joined the boycott, with one MP each.
The absence of the DMK and AIADMK drew criticism from Congress MP Praveen Chakraborty, who questioned the parties’ decision to skip the meeting despite their long-standing role in state politics.
"It was very disappointing that the party that governed the state for 6 terms and the party that governed the state for 5 terms did not participate in a meeting called by the chief minister to defend the rights and freedom of the people of Tamil Nadu," he said.
"Our demand is very clear: we do not want any change either in the total number of seats or in the share of Tamil Nadu's seats. We do not want any change. So, there is nothing called fair delimitation. The only delimitation is no delimitation," he said.
Congress MP Vishnu Prasad also criticised the parties for skipping the meeting, pointing out that the DMK, which has governed Tamil Nadu around six times, and the AIADMK, which has also ruled the state, were absent along with their alliance partners, PMK and DMDK.
"If the delimitation comes into force, if the bill is passed, then definitely our voice, our representation in the Parliament will be reduced... Rahul Gandhi, as well as the CM, told very clearly that this delimitation bill should not be entertained and it should be objected to in the first place. But unfortunately, today DMK and AIADMK are absent, and other alliance partners like PMK and DMDK are absent. Their priorities may be different. They are not bothered about the people of Tamil Nadu," he said.
The meeting comes amid reports of a renewed government effort to get the bill passed, with speculation that the legislation could be reintroduced in the upcoming monsoon session.
(With inputs from ANI)