Chennai: A meeting of Tamil Nadu Parliamentarians from the ruling alliance and friendly parties, chaired by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Saturday, unanimously resolved to oppose in toto the Union government’s proposed delimitation exercise.

The meeting was boycotted by major Opposition parties, with the DMK dismissing the deliberations as a “farce” and the AIADMK labelling it a “hurriedly staged drama”.

According to an official government press release, participating MPs demanded that the numerical ratio between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats be maintained at 2.2:1. The meeting unanimously resolved to adopt a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to permanently safeguard the rights of Tamil Nadu and other South Indian states regarding parliamentary representation.

At the conclusion of the session, the Chief Minister appealed to all political parties and MPs from the state to act in unison to defend Tamil Nadu’s interests, urging the Union government to drop the proposed delimitation proposal as it would diminish the state’s political weight and representation.

Addressing the media following the meeting, Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar stated that the gathering firmly agreed that no alteration is required in the composition of elected legislative bodies.

“No change is needed in the number of 543 (in Lok Sabha). Similarly, no change is warranted as regards the 39 LS seats in Tamil Nadu,” he said, reiterating the resolution passed under the Chief Minister’s leadership.

The Law Minister alleged that the Central BJP government was pushing the delimitation agenda solely for “election arithmetic” to secure convenient electoral victories. He asserted that Tamil Nadu does not require delimitation.

“Why do you want to do delimitation? Who is going to be benefited?” Kumar asked, demanding that the proposed move be abandoned and that the current “delimitation freeze” be extended by another 25 years.

A total of 19 MPs supporting the TVK-led administration participated in the brainstorming session, including representatives from ruling alliance partners, the Congress, VCK, MDMK and IUML, as well as friendly parties CPI and CPM.

Outlining the deliberations, VCK chief and MP Thol Thirumavalavan noted that all parliamentarians voiced their perspectives before adopting the joint resolution.
 

The VCK chief said, “We have unanimously passed a resolution. The (proposed) delimitation exercise must be dropped. The current total count of 543 (Lok Sabha seats) must continue. The seat allocation for the states must also continue as it is. That means, if we have 39 MPs in Tamil Nadu, that number must continue. This very consensus has been passed as a resolution in this meeting.

“The idea of increasing it to 50 per cent for all states or the stance of increasing the number based on population should not happen; that is the resolution adopted in this meeting. All the Members of Parliament presented their views on this basis."

Despite the boycott by the DMK and AIADMK, Thirumavalavan expressed confidence that both parties would ultimately take a similar stance against delimitation.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram emphasised that expanding the size of Parliament would not enhance democratic governance.

He said, "We are very clear that the number of MPs in the Lok Sabha must be frozen at 543. This freeze must continue and the distribution among the states in the same ratio as it is today, must continue and Tamil Nadu must have 39 members within a 543 member house."

Congress MP Jothimani noted that the Chief Minister carefully reviewed the views of the state’s parliamentarians. She warned that any delimitation bill presented by the Centre, even one offering a uniform 50% seat increase across states, would prove disastrous and must be resisted, adding that the exercise threatens the core interests of Tamil Nadu, national stability and democracy.
 

Key attendees included senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, CPM MP Su Venkatesan and MDMK MP Durai Vaiko. Eleven Congress MPs, two each from the CPI, CPM and VCK, alongside one MP each from the MDMK and IUML attended. DMK-aligned parties MNM and DMDK (holding one Rajya Sabha seat each) stayed away, as did the AIADMK (4 RS MPs), its ally PMK (1 RS MP), and the DMK, which holds 22 Lok Sabha and 8 Rajya Sabha seats.

Criticising the session, senior DMK leader A Raja told reporters in Perambalur that the meeting was “a farce, a laughable exercise”, questioning the propriety of the TVK regime deliberating on an unannounced issue. “Is it fair?” he asked.

In an issued statement, the AIADMK termed the meeting a “hurriedly staged drama”, questioning the rationale for holding such a conference when no delimitation bill has been tabled in Parliament nor any official policy announcement made.

The AIADMK questioned why the Chief Minister staged a “diversionary political drama” while ignoring opposition calls for an all-party conference on the pressing Cauvery-Mekedatu water conflict, noting that Mettur Dam remains unopened and delta farmers face severe water shortages.

 

PTI