Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 3 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday couples of the state to "give birth to child immediately" to ensure greater representation in Parliament.
This move is a direct response to the Centre's plans for constituency delimitation on a 'pro-rata' basis, which Stalin believes will unfairly limit southern states' representation.
Addressing at the marriage ceremony of a party worker's son, Stalin said that MPs count depends on population adding that now he won't say don't rush to give birth to child.
"Before it is used to say don't give birth to child immediately, no need to rush. But now it is not necessary, we shouldn't say that also..Because it is being said that the number of MPs would be decided based on population. The situation created is more population, more MPs. But we have achieved success with focusing on family planning. Now I won't say don't rush to give birth to child, give birth to child immediately."
Stalin emphasised that the number of MPs is directly tied to population, saying, "With 39 MPs, we are fighting for rights, with more MPs, we can achieve our thoughts."
Stalin also requested all parties to attend an all party meeting regarding delimitation.
The context behind Stalin's statement is the looming delimitation exercise, which may significantly impact Tamil Nadu's parliamentary representation. The state's Lok Sabha share is expected to increase only marginally, while other states, like Uttar Pradesh, are poised for more substantial gains.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin emphasised that Tamil Nadu rejects the NEP, delimitation, and Hindi imposition. He accused the central government of trying to "impose Hindi sideways" and through the NEP.
"The Tamil Nadu CM is the person who has brought the Metro Railway project to Chennai. The CM said three things recently: we don't accept NEP, we won't accept delimitation, and we won't accept Hindi imposition. Today, the central is trying to impose the Hindi language sideways. Centre is directly trying to impose Hindi through the New Education Policy. Tamil Nadu will never accept the New Education Policy and Hindi imposition in any manner. We (DMK) are not feared by Central Government threats because the current regime is DMK, not AIADMK. The current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is MK Stalin, not Edappadi Palaniswami (AIADMK Chief and Former CM)...," said Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said at a BJP programme in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, that the southern States will not be disadvantaged by the delimitation process.
The southern leaders, including Stalin and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, has strongly criticised the government over constituency delimitation.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin urged the people to "rise" to defend the state in a fight against the delimitation of constituencies and the three-language policy.
Stalin criticised the three-language policy, saying that it had resulted in the centre withholding the state's funds and that delimitation would now 'affect' the state's representation.
"Their three-language policy has already resulted in the withholding of our rightful funds. Likewise, while they claim they will not reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats, they are unwilling to assure that the representation of other states will not be disproportionately increased. Our demand is clear - do not determine parliamentary constituencies based on population alone...We will never compromise on Tamil Nadu's welfare and future for anyone or anything...Tamil Nadu will resist! Tamil Nadu will prevail," Stalin said.