Now Reading: DMK, AIADMK boycott Vijay’s all-party meet on delimitation
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DMK, AIADMK boycott Vijay’s all-party meet on delimitation
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s all-party MPs meeting on delimitation suffered a major blow on Saturday as 37 of the state's 57 MPs stayed away. The DMK, with 30 MPs,…
The Story in Brief
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s all-party MPs meeting on delimitation suffered a major blow on Saturday as 37 of the state's 57 MPs stayed away. The DMK, with 30 MPs, and the AIADMK, with four MPs, led the boycott. The DMK's Kanimozhi called the meet a "political drama" and accused Vijay of trying to divert attention from the Cauvery water dispute. Only 20 MPs from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK and IUML attended. The meeting was meant to discuss the proposed redrawing of Lok Sabha seats based on the 2011 Census, which southern states fear will reduce their parliamentary strength.
The TVK government has called for a united response to the Union government's proposed delimitation exercise, which could increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to around 850. Parties opposing the move argue that states that controlled population growth should not be penalised. The DMK says no official delimitation bill has been tabled, making the consultation unnecessary.
The Indian Opinion
The rhetoric from both sides is predictable. The ruling DMK and AIADMK call the meeting a "charade", while conveniently ignoring that their own MPs are in New Delhi, not Chennai, and could have coordinated with the CM. Vijay's move may be sincere, but convening a meeting without the two biggest parties was always going to look like a publicity stunt. The real test is whether the TVK government can build a cross-party consensus on the Cauvery issue, which the DMK claims has been sidelined, before the delimitation bill is tabled.
Sources (3): ndtv.com, thenewsminute.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
