Dhinakaran Criticises CM Vijay Over Shift in Parliamentary Delimitation Stance

AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran on Thursday criticized the TVK government in Chennai for altering its stance on parliamentary delimitation shortly after passing an official resolution on the matter in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly.

The criticism followed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s address at the Southern Zonal Council meeting held in Mamallapuram on Thursday. During his speech, the Chief Minister urged the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance ensuring that no state suffers a reduction in its percentage of parliamentary representation on account of its success in population stabilization.

Dhinakaran asserted that the Chief Minister's speech indicated a shift in the administration's policy, noting that the TVK government had previously opposed delimitation entirely. Questioning whether the government was shifting its stance on parliamentary delimitation, Dhinakaran stated that the remarks at the council meeting laid bare a political drama orchestrated to distract from pressing issues facing the state.

According to Dhinakaran, the recent comments presented a glaring contradiction to the state government's actions earlier in the month. He pointed out that the administration had convened a meeting with alliance Members of Parliament on August 8 and subsequently rushed a resolution through the assembly on August 12, which demanded that the Union government freeze the total number of parliamentary seats at the existing 543.