Chennai: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday urged the BJP-led Union government to fully withdraw the proposed amendment linked to constituency delimitation, saying the Centre must “listen to Tamil Nadu’s voice”.
In a statement, Stalin said the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister had given a verbal assurance in Parliament that Tamil Nadu’s number of Lok Sabha constituencies would not be reduced due to delimitation. However, he alleged that the draft legislation filed by the Centre did not match those assurances.
Calling the bill a “deceptive plan”, Stalin claimed the powers proposed for the delimitation commission could allow future changes to constituency strength across states at a time and in a manner convenient to the ruling party. He described the move as a “major conspiracy” and warned against rushing it through.
Stalin said Tamil Nadu wanted a firm legal safeguard similar to earlier constitutional measures taken by former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to pause delimitation for 25 years. He cautioned that if the Centre passed the bill by relying on its numerical strength despite opposition, it would face consequences in Tamil Nadu.
