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“Do not turn a calm south into a storm,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin warned the Union government over renewed talks on the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.
“Why is the Union BJP Government shrouding the entire delimitation process in secrecy instead of coming clean on how it intends to carry it out?” Stalin asked in a statement issued on April 8.
“What is the tearing hurry to convene a special session of Parliament right in the middle of five state elections?” Stalin added.
During an election roadshow in Kerala on April 4 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that there would be no reduction of seats in the southern states due to delimitation. Further the Parliament is expecting to discuss delimitation during the special budget sitting on April 16.
Several leaders, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, were quick to point out that delimitation threatens to favour BJP-ruled states and that Opposition skepticism arises from the proportional impact of delimitation and not just numbers.
In his April 8 statement, Stalin said, “Why is the Union Government brushing aside the fair and reasoned demand of Opposition leaders to hold the special session only after April 29? What is it trying to hide?”
He added that “forcing through far reaching constitutional amendments without even convening an all party consultation is nothing short of dictatorship.”
Stalin also declared that the DMK will not stand by and watch any attempt that places “the rights of southern states at stake while handing greater power to the north.”
He further said that any decision taken without the consent of the southern states and without engagement will not be accepted.
In a follow up statement issued on April 9, the CM accused the BJP of “systematically eroding the very foundations of Parliament.”
He added that delimitation contradicts the Union government’s claims of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. “It will only inflate expenditure, burden taxpayers, and dilute the quality of parliamentary functioning.”
Calling the move unconstitutional, Stalin added, “This exercise will blatantly skew representation and tilt the balance of power in favour of northern states dominated by the BJP, while silencing the voice of south India.”
Emphasising Siddaramaiah’s earlier rebuttal, Stalin termed delimitation a “calculated political restructuring.”
He pointed out that northern states may gain nearly double the seats, while the south’s share could stagnate at around 24%.
“This is nothing short of penalising states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana for their success in population control,” Stalin stated.