Chennai: Shortly after the delimitation bill was defeated in the lower house of Parliament, chief minister M K Stalin declared that it was a victory for Tamil Nadu.“Tamil Nadu defeats Delhi!” he said in a post on X and called upon for the fight to continue on the polling day to defeat BJP and AIADMK in the elections too. “On April 23, let us together defeat Delhi’s arrogance — and the slaves who prop up that arrogance,” he said in the post.MPs of DMK from Tamil Nadu and opponents of BJP in states like West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana voted collectively against the Bill.In another post, Stalin said he wanted the Women’s Reservation Bill to be implemented now, but the concern was only with delimitation. “Because delimitation requires careful thought to ensure it is fair, especially souther states. We asked for consultation, clarity and consensus. At the very least, the bill could have been delinked and implemented,” he said. But the NDA chose not to delink and implement, he said. “This is not justice. This is optics,” he said adding that women in TN see through this. “Women across India are not votebank. They are watching,” he said.“Truth was simple – BJP could have delivered. It chose not to,” he said. Earlier in the day, Stalin expressed his strong condemnation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union govt for attempting to push the legislation. He demanded that the Union govt withdraw the proposed delimitation Bill in full and cautioned that any attempt to bulldoze it through Parliament would invite strong resistance in TN.He said the sweeping powers granted to the Delimitation Commission under the Bill made it clear that the Centre could alter the representation of states “at any time and in any manner” to suit its political interests.“This so-called legislation is a carefully crafted trap, loaded with dangerous intent,” Stalin said, adding that it must not be rushed through in haste. Stating that TN’s demand was clear, Stalin called for the restoration of constitutional safeguards that froze delimitation, as provided earlier through constitutional amendments during the tenures of Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Union govt, he emphasised, must listen to the voice of TN and respect the federal spirit of the Constitution.
