L Murugan asks: Why only a king in Nilgiris, why not a queen?

Remarks in Tiruppur

Union minister and Avinashi constituency candidate L Murugan on Saturday raised a pointed question about political representation in the Nilgiris: with women forming 52% of the electorate, why should the seat be held only by a “king” and not a “queen”.

Call for more women in elected offices

Speaking to reporters in Tiruppur, Murugan said women should get greater opportunities in politics, arguing that sisters should become MPs and mothers should become MLAs. He alleged that the DMK had no moral right to speak about social justice and demanded that the DMK government, Chief Minister M K Stalin and MP Kanimozhi apologise to women.

Support for delimitation

Murugan also argued for constituency delimitation, saying India is in its 80th year of independence and cannot continue with the same arrangements from decades ago. He said Tamil Nadu would get 59 constituencies and questioned whether Stalin opposed having more MPs.

Nilgiris’ size cited as an issue

Citing the Nilgiris parliamentary constituency’s large span—about 250 km from Netaji Park to Wayanad—Murugan said ordinary people have to travel long distances to meet their MP. He said population growth and the country’s development make delimitation necessary.