Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay chairs MPs’ meet on delimitation (Image Courtesy- CMO Tamil Nadu)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay chaired a meeting of Tamil Nadu MPs, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, to deliberate on the Union government’s proposed delimitation exercise, with DMK, DMDK and AIADMK parliamentarians abstaining from attending the meeting.
The just-concluded consultative meeting convened by the TVK-led Tamil Nadu government to discuss the proposed delimitation of constituencies began at Kalaivanar Arangam on Saturday, with 19 MPs from Tamil Nadu participating. MPs belonging to the Congress, CPI, CPM, VCK, MDMK and IUML attended the meeting along with State Ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, R Nirmalkumar and Rajmohan. Representatives of the DMK, AIADMK, MNM, DMDK and PMK did not participate in the meeting.
Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha MPs — 22 from the DMK, nine from the Congress, two each from the VCK, CPI and CPM, and one each from the IUML and MDMK. In the Rajya Sabha, the State has 18 members, including eight from the DMK, four from the AIADMK, three from the Congress, and one each from the DMDK, MNM and PMK.
The meeting was in the voice that Tamil Nadu could not afford a change in the number of seats for elected representatives for at least 40-50 years.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said around 21 out of 57 Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs attended the meeting and that it was agreed to resist any alteration in Tamil Nadu’s representation in Parliament.
He said, “TN CM has called for a meeting for all MPs from the State from both Houses of Parliament. About 21 of us attended the meeting. In that meeting, there is a total unanimity that Tamil Nadu’s rights must be preserved. Our representation in Parliament can’t be diminished and any kind of alteration and delimitation, either on the basis of population or on a proportionate increase, will be resisted.”
The Congress MP told the media, “We want Parliament to be frozen at 543 and the distribution among the states to be preserved as it is, which means TN will have 39 members in a House of 543. We are clear in our unanimous opinion that a larger Parliament will be an ineffective one and Tamil Nadu will not be well served by a larger Parliament.”
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President and Congress MP Manickam Tagore told reporters, “This is very unfortunate that they had boycotted. For the first time, the Tamil Nadu CM has called a meeting with all-party MPs. We discussed the delimitation plan, which was defeated on April 16. Tamil Nadu completely voted against it, and therefore the delimitation was defeated. Now, the Chief Minister is talking in Delhi that the government may come up with the delimitation, with altered plans being worked out… that we discussed it. In the meeting, it was decided that there is no need for delimitation. The 543 MP number should not be increased. Tamil Nadu’s 39 MPs should not be reduced. The status quo should continue, and women’s reservation should be implemented…”
VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan told the media, “Only one resolution was passed in this meeting, that is no fair delimitation or no other option. The Union government should freeze the number 543, and we have passed a resolution that the numbers in the State should also be sustained.”
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.
DMK MP Kanimozhi said that the all-party MPs’ meeting convened by CM Vijay was unnecessary, alleging that it had been called to divert attention from the Cauvery issue, adding that there had been no official announcement that the Delimitation Bill would be passed during the current session of Parliament. In such a context, the Chief Minister’s meeting on delimitation was “pure drama”, as there was nothing more to discuss on the issue.
DMK Nilgiris MP A Raja told reporters in Perambalur that it was a “farce, a laughable exercise. TVK govt was deliberating on an issue about which it had no clarity”. AIADMK termed the meeting “a hurriedly staged drama”.
Journalist Thinakaran Rajamany, in a post on X, said, “Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay offered DMK & AIADMK an uncomfortable choice: Attend his meeting on delimitation bill and help him emerge as a leader of Tamil Nadu’s collective voice. Or boycott it and risk allowing him to claim that he sought unity, while they stayed away. They chose the second option.”
Critics say the boycott by the majority of TN MPs could be seen as a symbolic blow to CM Vijay, as the meeting was called to arrive at a consensus on the TN response to the proposed delimitation exercise. The Bill, which was moved in Parliament, was defeated by the Opposition. In today’s meeting, 12 MPs of, while the VCK, CPI and CPI(M) have two each, and the MDMK and IUML have one each were present.
