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Stalin calls meet on ‘delimitation sword’ over southern states
Stalin, who heads the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, also hit out at the Centre over the three-language policy in the National Education Policy.
The impending delimitation of Lok Sabha seats is a sword hanging over the southern states, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said on Tuesday as he called an all-party meeting in Chennai on March 5 to discuss the politically contentious issue.
Stalin, who heads the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, also hit out at the Centre over the three-language policy in the National Education Policy, saying the Union government was sowing the seeds of another language war and that Tamil Nadu was ready for it.
The CM said 40 registered political parties in the state will be invited for the all-party meeting.
“Tamil Nadu succeeded in population control through the family planning programme. Just because the population is less, there is a situation of the Lok Sabha seats being cut down (in TN). We stand to lose eight seats and as a result, we would be having only 31 MPs, and not 39,” he added.
“Our representation (in Parliament) will reduce, Tamil Nadu’s voice is being stifled. This is a matter of Tamil Nadu’s rights. All leaders and political parties should jointly speak across party lines on the issue,” the CM added.
Asked if the meeting will discuss the three-language policy, Stalin said that to raise the voice in Parliament on issues such as NEP, central funds and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), an adequate number of MPs was required. “Because, in the name of delimitation, a sword is hanging over southern states,” he said.
The delimitation exercise – originally scheduled for 2026 – redefines the number of representatives a state sends to the Lok Sabha on the basis of population, and given the relative failure of states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in controlling their population, it will mean that they end up with more seats in Parliament.
A 2019 analysis by Milan Vaishnaw and Jamie Hintson of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, projected that such an exercise could see the overall strength of the Lok Sabha rising to 668, with Uttar Pradesh alone seeing its tally increase from the current 80 to 143 by 2026. In contrast, Tamil Nadu, which currently sends 39 representatives, could see the number rise to just 49. Kerala, which sends 20, would see no change at all.
To be sure, the Union government has not announced the timeline for delimitation or of the census which has to act as the basis for the exercise.
After chairing a cabinet meeting at the secretariat, Stalin said on Tuesday that Tamil Nadu was compelled to engage in such a significant struggle for its rights. Responding to a query if the Centre was “sowing the seeds for another language war,” in light of the alleged Hindi imposition, Stalin replied, “Yes, certainly. We are ready for it.”
Stalin and Union education minister Dharmandra Pradhan have been locked in a bitter verbal war over the NEP, which the former views as a tool to impose Hindi on the southern state – a charge rejected by the latter. Language has long been an emotive issue for the state that was rocked by anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s.
Asserting that the state’s voice was being suppressed through delimitation, Stalin termed the state a matter of adversely affecting Tamil Nadu’s rights and urged all leaders and political parties to speak out collectively on the issue.
In a copy of the invitation for the all-party meeting uploaded on his X page, Stalin highlighted the various issues the state was facing, including central fund allocation. Under such circumstances, the number of Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu going down will only further impact the state and it was the need of the hour to put up a show of unity in the interest of Tamil Nadu, the CM added.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo and Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami, said the principal opposition party was demanding such a meeting for a long time, and it will continue to stand for such stern measures to protect the rights of Tamils.
“The larger objective of the delimitation exercise must be to ensure that the population is fairly represented. However, delimitation should be based on the state’s contribution rather than population. Overall contributions and achievements of each state must serve as the primary criterion for delimitation,” he said.
The Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, CPI, CPI (M), Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi also welcomed the decision to convene the meeting.
The BJP, however, accused Stalin of spreading “imaginary fears” over the upcoming delimitation process.“When Stalin knows the whole of the state has rejected his argument on the third language issue, he wants to shift the narrative to his imaginary fear of Tamil Nadu losing seats in the delimitation exercise, “ party’s state unit chief K Annamalai said in a post on X.
