Chennai, Feb 27 (IANS) The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the political arm of the influential Vanniyar community, on Thursday assured the Tamil Nadu government of its full support in preventing the reduction of Lok Sabha seats in the state.
PMK founder Dr S. Ramadoss announced that his party would participate in the all-party meeting convened by the Tamil Nadu government on March 5 to discuss the issue of delimitation.
In a statement, he expressed concerns over the proposed constituency reallocation based on population.
Dr Ramadoss reiterated his long-standing demand to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 1,000, arguing that a higher number of parliamentary representatives would strengthen democracy.
However, reports indicate that under the new delimitation plan, Tamil Nadu’s seats could be reduced to 31 or 32.
“Delimitation based on population is unjust. Southern states, including Tamil Nadu, have successfully controlled population growth, benefiting both the state and the country. Instead of being penalised for this achievement, our representation should be increased,” he said.
The PMK founder further emphasised that if the total number of Lok Sabha seats in India is increased to 721, Tamil Nadu’s representation should rise to 52.
Similarly, if the seats are expanded to 888, the state should receive 64 seats to maintain its proportional representation of 7.2 per cent.
Dr Ramadoss also expressed dissatisfaction with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s clarification on the matter, stating that it lacked clarity.
The PMK has pledged to back all measures taken by the Tamil Nadu government to safeguard the state’s parliamentary representation. The party will actively participate in discussions at the all-party meeting.
Meanwhile, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) coordinator Seeman announced on Wednesday that his party would not attend the March 5 meeting. He dismissed the need for an all-party discussion, stating: “We have fought many battles on our own. I had already addressed this issue in a report back in 2003. We do not trust these parties or the government. We have been deceived multiple times by relying on such alliances. Therefore, we will fight this issue independently and will not participate in the meeting.”
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has accused the Central government of attempting to reduce Tamil Nadu’s Lok Sabha constituencies from 39 to 31, based on population figures from the latest census. He warned that such a move would diminish Tamil Nadu’s influence in Parliament and weaken its voice on national issues.
He has invited 40 registered political parties to join the discussions at the Secretariat on March 5 to deliberate on the delimitation issue.
–IANS
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