No decision on delimitation bill until it's tabled in Parliament: DMK
The DMK on Thursday said that the party has not taken a formal stand on the proposed delimitation legislation so far and will decide its
The DMK on Thursday said that the party has not taken a formal stand on the proposed delimitation legislation so far and will decide its position only after the bill is introduced in Parliament. The decision was taken at a meeting convened by DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin with the party's Members of Parliament, a senior party MP said. Read Full Story "The party president called for a meeting with all MPs and it was decided to take a call on delimitation when the bill is introduced," the MP said. The DMK's comments came at a time when the Congress has been reaching out to opposition parties to stand united against the bill in Parliament. The remarks also followed senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's claim that the BJP had approached the DMK for support. The Centre is expected to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, proposing an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 850 and initiating the delimitation process.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said the party was in touch with all opposition parties, including the DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had voted together to defeat a Constitution amendment bill linked to delimitation during the previous session. "We are in touch with all parties, including the DMK, who voted with us on April 17. We are in touch with the DMK; we are in touch with the Aam Aadmi Party," Ramesh said after a strategy meeting of senior Congress leaders ahead of the Monsoon session. Ramesh expressed confidence that the BJP-led government would not be able to secure the two-thirds majority required in the Lok Sabha to pass a constitutional amendment. He alleged that the ruling party was attempting to secure support after failing to achieve its target of crossing 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress leader also reiterated concerns over delimitation, claiming that the manner in which constituency redrawing had been carried out in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir raised serious questions. Union minister P Chidambaram earlier alleged that the BJP was attempting to secure the support of the DMK and the NCP (SP) for the proposed legislation. He urged both parties not to back the bill, arguing that its primary objective was to pave the way for delimitation. "The failed Bill purported to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, but its real purpose was to pave the way for delimitation and, possibly, gerrymandering of constituencies," Chidambaram said in a post on X. He contended that states that had successfully implemented population control measures could face a reduction in political representation under the existing delimitation formula and warned that such an exercise could adversely affect the rights of southern states.
The BriefWire