‘Against basis of democracy’: TN Assembly passes resolution against delimitation, BJP lends support

The resolution against delimitation said the exercise due in 2026, following the new Census, “not be carried out”. “Due to unavoidable reasons, if the number of (Lok Sabha and Assembly) seats on the basis of population were to (change), (they) shall be maintained at the present ratio for constituencies within states… and for both Houses of Parliament, (which were) fixed based on the population of 1971.”

Today marks a watershed moment for Tamil Nadu as we take a decisive stand against Union BJP Government’s authoritarian agenda.

We refuse to be treated as second-class citizens and have unanimously passed two resolutions:

one to shield our state from unfair delimitation… pic.twitter.com/cE3q2ttc9e

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 14, 2024

Tamil Nadu, along with other states in the South, has been arguing that they should not be “penalised” for their successful implementation of population control measures, compared to high-population states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The issue has also taken the dimension of “financial atrocities” against the South, with the LDF-led Kerala and Congress-led Karnataka governments recently holding agitations in the Capital over the sharing of resources by the Centre with them. The Tamil Nadu government, led by the DMK in alliance with the Congress, lent its support to the two agitations.

Its delimitation resolution on Wednesday also worried that the state was paying a price for its “socio-economic development programmes and welfare schemes over the past 50 years”.

The ruling BJP at the Centre has been silent on the delimitation issue, with no clarity yet on even the Census, which was due originally in 2021. In his first remarks on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a rally in poll-bound Telangana in October that the South “stands to lose 100 seats”.

Choosing a southern state to raise the issue, Modi used it as a counter to Rahul Gandhi’s slogan of “Jitni aabadi, utna haq (rights as per numbers)”. While the Congress links the slogan to its demand for a caste census, to reapportion quota benefits as per actual numbers of different groups, the PM said what Rahul was suggesting went against the South’s interests.

“The country is now talking about the next delimitation. It will mean that wherever the population is less, the Lok Sabha seats will come down, and rise where the population is high… The southern states have achieved remarkable progress in population control, but will stand to lose heavily if the Congress’s new idea of rights in proportion to population is implemented… South India stands to lose 100 Lok Sabha seats… Will South India accept this? Will South India forgive the Congress?” Modi said.

Speaking during the Assembly proceedings, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan said: “We agree with the argument that states in South India that have achieved certain socio-economic standards with their own efforts should not suffer in the delimitation process, the number of constituencies should not be affected due to our achievements. We agree with that… As the state unit of the BJP, we will definitely take up the cause of South India with the BJP central leadership.”

The second resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday was against the BJP’s push for ‘One Nation, One Election’, on which the Centre has set up a panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

தலைநகர் டெல்லியில் சொந்த நாட்டின் உழவர்களை ஒடுக்கப் போர்க்களத்தை விடக் கொடூரமான சூழலை ஒன்றிய பா.ஜ.க அரசு உருவாக்கியிருக்கிறது.

இந்தியாவில் இனி ஜனநாயகம் நீடிக்குமா? தேர்தல் முறை என ஒன்று இருக்குமா? அரசியல் சட்டம் நிலைக்குமா? என்பதற்கான விடையைத் தரக்கூடியதாக 2024 நாடாளுமன்றத்… pic.twitter.com/Fu43dp2Fsy

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 14, 2024

The resolution stressed the importance of conducting elections for local bodies, state Assemblies, and Parliament at different times, saying these were necessary to uphold “the principle of democratic decentralisation” and to cater to people-centric issues in a vast and diverse country like India.

Apart from the DMK’s allies, including the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, Dalit party VCP, Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, Tamizhga Vaazhvurimai Katchi, and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, the AIADMK that was till recently an ally of the BJP also supported the resolutions.

While the AIADMK gave unequivocal support to the resolution against delimitation, in case of ‘One Nation, One Election’, party MLA and former minister N Thalavai Sundaram said their backing was “conditional” and suggested that the exercise be rolled out over a decade, provided certain conditions were met.

Sundaram added that the AIADMK had made its representation before the Kovind panel, suggesting a 10-year lag and that EVMs be readied for this mass exercise in the next five years.

On delimitation, the AIADMK leader said: “The seats in state Assemblies and Parliament should not fall.”

While the BJP shared the concerns regarding the delimitation process, its MLA Srinivasan criticised the opposition to ‘One Nation, One Election’. Calling it a “necessary reform” and apprehensions regarding it “unfounded”, she said it could reduce financial and administrative burdens associated with frequent elections.