DMK MPs to wear black to protest Lok Sabha delimitation exercise

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran said party leaders will wear black to Parliament to protest the Lok Sabha delimitation. He fears it will reduce southern states' representation and accused the Centre of using the women's quota bill to push the change.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said that the party leaders will wear black to the Parliament in protest against the delimitation exercise in the Lok Sabha. Flagging that the representation of the southern states, including Tamil Nadu, will reduce in comparison to the northern states, Maran said that the rights of each state should be respected and the delimitation should be done on a proportionate basis.

DMK's Accusations Against Centre

Maran accused the Centre of "bulldozing" the Constitution amendment Bill, without discussion with each state. The DMK MP told ANI, "Our leader MK Stalin held a meeting with all the DMK MPs. They are disguising the bill as a bill for a women's quota, but it's not a bill for a women's quota. It is for delimitation. The real dragon is delimitation. They want delimitation based on the 2011 census, which all the opposition parties have been opposing. That's not a fair way to do it. They are increasing the seats for Uttar Pradesh from 80 to 240. Do not do it based on the population. Let's do it on a proportionate basis. What is the hurry to introduce this bill when the other states are going for elections? You never discussed with all the states. You want to bulldoze this."

Stalin Calls for Statewide Protests

"He (CM MK Stalin) is saying this is not good for the country, this is not the right way. In a democratic country, the rights of every state should be respected. Every DMK MP will be present and vote against the Bill. Tamil Nadu CM has asked people to show a black flag in every household as mark that we don't agree with PM Modi. We all will be wearing black outfits to show that we are against the Bill... BJP is non-existent; people will never vote for a party which is against the interests of Tamil-speaking people," he added.

Dayanidhi Maran's remarks come after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin termed the proposed amendment Bill by the Union government a "massive historic injustice" against Tamil Nadu and other southern states and called for black flag protests across the state.

The Bill and Proposed Changes

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women legislators, is linked to the delimitation process in the Lok Sabha. The government is planning to implement the women's reservation ahead of the 2029 General Elections. According to sources, the government has proposed to increase the number of seats in the House to 850, with 815 seats proposed for the States and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present. While the seats in Lok Sabha will witness a 50 per cent increase, the opposition parties have expressed concern as this increase will not be on a pro-rata basis for each state. The delimitation exercise, under Article 82 of the Constitution, is linked to the population of a constituency.

Congress Joins Opposition

Meanwhile, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also opposed the proposed delimitation based on the 2011 census and said that any such attempt will be resisted by the party. He said all the Tamil Nadu MPs from the Secular Progressive Alliance will vote against the Bill.

Karti Chidambaram said, "I am personally in favour of having a reservation for women in Parliament and so is my party, the Congress party. But that reservation has to happen immediately within the 543-member House. Any attempt to increase the strength of the house and redistribute the seats will be strongly resisted. As it is with 543 members, we hardly get any time to speak. If we increase the strength of the house to 816 or 850, it will become a very ineffective house. Further, if there is going to be delimitation and redrawing of constituencies among states based on the 2011 census, it will be grossly unfair to the southern states and to a few other states which have implemented family planning effectively. All the MPs from Tamil Nadu will not support this initiative of the government, and we will vote against this."

Congress is also scheduled to hold a meeting to draft the House strategy to oppose the delimitation process. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)