Vijay’s delimitation stand sparks row in Tamil Nadu, Opposition accuses him of 'U-turn'

A row erupted in Tamil Nadu over the delimitation exercise after chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged the Centre to provide a “clear legislative assurance” that no State will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament.

The chief minister did not repeat the resolution passed in the assembly on August 12 which demanded permanent freezing of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha or for permanently retaining the existing state wise allocation.

In his speech at the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Mahabalipuram, Vijay said, “I urge the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no State will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament on account of its success in population stabilisation.”

“Such an approach would uphold the principles of equity, preserve the federal balance envisioned by our Constitution, and reinforce the confidence of all States in our democratic institutions,” he said.

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The DMK slammed Vijay over the comments. “Chief minister C Joseph Vijay flip-flops on the constituency delimitation issue,” DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said.

The AIADMK also attacked the TVK government, stating that it has pulled off a complete “U-Turn” on the Delimitation issue. “What are you saying now is the exact same thing the Union government said. And that is why the AIADMK supported the delimitation bill when it was introduced,” the AIADMK IT Wing said on social media.

“Why conduct such a resolution drama just to flip-flop like this?” the party asked.

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Meanwhile, the IT wing of the TVK said, “In the speech delivered by the Chief Minister... a broad visionary perspective was presented to protect the current representation of Southern states that have successfully implemented population control. The resolution passed in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on August 12, articulates this in actionable terms,” it said.

“Despite this, misleading opinions are being spread about constituency delimitation without even a basic understanding of the issue.”, it added.

Talking to reporters outside the venue of the meeting, minister for energy resources and law, CTR Nirmalkumar said, “There is no change in TVK’s stance on the delimitation issue. There is no change in our position that the number of Lok Sabha seats should remain at 543.”