Coimbatore: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday reassured that no southern state, including Tamil Nadu, will see a reduction in parliamentary representation due to the proposed delimitation exercise. His statement comes a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin raised concerns over the potential loss of Lok Sabha seats if constituency redrawing is based on population.
Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers at a party event in Coimbatore, Shah accused Stalin and his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, of misleading the people of Tamil Nadu. “CM Stalin and his son are unnecessarily creating panic. The Narendra Modi-led central government has already made it clear in Parliament that delimitation will not alter the proportion of Lok Sabha seats for southern states,” he stated.
Shah further clarified that in the event of an increase in the total number of seats, southern states will receive their fair share. “No state will be penalized for successfully implementing family planning measures. If more seats are added during delimitation, southern states will also benefit accordingly,” he assured.
Taking a swipe at the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, Shah alleged that Tamil Nadu has become a safe haven for anti-national forces, drug cartels, and illegal mining activities.
Stalin, in his statement on Tuesday, expressed fears that Tamil Nadu could lose as many as eight Lok Sabha seats under the new delimitation formula. “Tamil Nadu has been at the forefront of population control efforts. But if this results in a reduction of our representation in Parliament, how can it be justified?” he questioned in a post on X.
