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Delimitation row: CM Stalin takes ‘lip service’ jibe at BJP, warns of reduced seats for Tamil Nadu in LS
According to the CM, Tamil Nadu's success in controlling its population through family planning and women empowerment could lead to a loss of seats.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday called for the 1971 census to be the basis of delimitation due in 2026 at an all-party meeting he had chaired in Chennai. MK Stalin alleged that the BJP-led union government paid mere lip service to Tamil language for the sake of votes and dubbed the ruling party at the Centre as Tamil's "enemy."
In the meeting, attended by almost all major parties in the state, Stalin warned that population based delimitation will reduce the Lok Sabha seats for Tamil Nadu.
"The union government, out-and-out, is functioning with a feeling of linguistic hegemony and pays mere lip service to Tamil for the sake of votes," news agency PTI quoted the chief minister.
CM says TN's success in controlling population can backfire
According to the chief minister, Tamil Nadu's success in controlling its population through family planning and women empowerment could lead to a loss of parliamentary seats.
"Tamil Nadu has been pushed to carry forward one big rights protest. The sword known as Delimitation is hanging above the heads of southern states. Tamil Nadu faces a big threat," ANI quoted Stalin as saying.
"If the present 543 seats continue due to less population, there is a possibility of reducing our Parliament constituencies. Tamil Nadu could lose 8 seats. There won't be 39 MPs for Tamil Nadu, only 32 MPs would be there," Stalin added.
Stalin further explained that if the total number of Parliament constituencies is increased to 848, Tamil Nadu would "get 22 constituencies more".
However, if the delimitation is done solely based on population, the state would only gain 10 more seats, leading to a loss of 12 seats overall.
"In both models, Tamil Nadu's representation would decrease. More populated states will get more MPs," Stalin concluded, urging for a fair approach in the upcoming delimitation process. He demanded that the population figures from the 1971 census should be used for the delimitation process.
Stalin also floated the idea of a Joint Action Committee of MPs, and party representatives from southern states at the all-party meet in Chennai. While most Tamil parties attended the meeting, the Tamil Nadu BJP gave it a miss.
Actor Vijay’s TVK joins DMK to criticise potential delimitation
Meanwhile, Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) joined MK Stalin’s DMK in criticising the potential delimitation process based on population. The newest entrant into Tamil Nadu politics warned that it could reduce southern states' representation. The party highlighted concerns about the method's fairness and stressed addressing immediate issues like inflation and unemployment.
"According to the 84th Constitutional Amendment, the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies has been frozen until 2026. Therefore, after the upcoming year, the Union Government is likely to initiate this delimitation process. However, no clear explanation or assurance has been given to the states regarding how this restructuring will take place," ANI quoted a statement from the party.
TVKK noted that no clear explanation has been provided to the states about how this restructuring will be carried out.
