Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tamilisai Soundarajan criticized Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for conducting the first Joint Action Committee Meeting on the issue of delimitation. She accused Stalin of using the meeting as a distraction to “hide his misgovernance,” emphasizing that the central government has not yet announced the delimitation process.
Speaking to media, Soundarajan said, “Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech clearly exposed the double standards of DMK. He said that we will go to each and every village to expose the corruption charges against the DMK… The delimitation has not even been announced, but the CM is conducting a meeting to hide his misgovernance.”
She further alleged that the Chief Ministers of other states attending the meeting were also attempting to cover up their own governance failures.
All-Party Meeting on Delimitation
The all-party meeting, convened by MK Stalin in Chennai, was attended by Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das, and Biju Janata Dal leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, among others.
Ahead of the meeting, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar voiced his strong opposition to the delimitation process, asserting that their seats in Parliament must not be reduced under any circumstances.
Expressing his support for Stalin’s initiative, Shivakumar said, “I would like to congratulate MK Stalin. He has taken the first step. We are very proud that he is protecting the federal structure and the Constitution of this country. Coming together is the beginning. Today, all of us will discuss what the progress will be, and work together… Leaders from Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, we all have joined here… At any cost, we cannot let down our country and our seats be reduced… We are a very progressive state. We have stood fast economically and in literacy… We will stand united, and we will make sure none of our seats are reduced… I welcome all the BJP black flags. I am not afraid even if they send me to Tihar jail…”
DMK vs BJP on Key Issues
The Tamil Nadu government, led by MK Stalin, has clashed with the central government on multiple issues, including the three-language formula proposed under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the delimitation exercise.