Namakkal: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin intensified his opposition to the central government’s proposed delimitation bill on Thursday, setting a copy of the legislation ablaze and branding it a "black law" designed to marginalise the Tamil population.

Stalin’s act of protest occurred in Namakkal, where the Chief Minister is currently campaigning. Accompanied by supporters dressed in black, he hoisted a black flag and burned the circulated bill hours before a special session of Parliament was scheduled to convene.

"Let the flames of resistance spread across Tamil Nadu. Let the arrogance of the fascist BJP be brought down," Stalin said in a statement. He drew parallels to the state's historic 1960s anti-Hindi agitations, noting that the previous "fire of resistance" only subsided once the central government relented.

A Call for Regional Resistance

The Chief Minister characterised the legislative move as a direct threat to the sovereignty of the Tamil people within their own borders.

"Today, I have reignited that fire by burning the copy of this black law and hoisting the black flag against this black law that seeks to turn Tamils into refugees in our own land," Stalin said. "This fire will now spread across the Dravidian land. It will rise, it will rage, and it will bring the BJP's arrogance to its knees."

Following the Chief Minister’s lead, members of the DMK and its allies raised black flags at private residences, party offices, and public squares throughout the state. The slogan "Poradavom, Velvom ondraga" (Let us struggle, win together) was echoed by demonstrators across the region.

Widespread Symbolic Defiance

The protest extended to the capital, with black flags displayed at 'Anna Arivalayam,' the DMK's headquarters in Chennai, as well as the offices of allied parties, including Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam and Vaiko’s MDMK. A black flag was also placed at the Gopalapuram residence of the late DMK leader M. Karunanidhi.

Cabinet ministers and party officials followed the directive by placing black flags at their homes, a visual representation of the state government’s formal rejection of the delimitation proposal.

Stalin had initiated the call for the statewide protest on Wednesday, arguing that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's plan to redraw constituency boundaries would disproportionately damage Tamil Nadu’s political interests and representation.

With inputs from PTI