NEW DELHI: The slogan “fair delimitation to Tamil Nadu” is one of the requirements under the Constitution and it doesn’t undermine the decorum of Parliament, says Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson.
On Thursday, the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned both Houses over DMK MPs wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation. Speaking to this newspaper, Wilson said that they adopted the mode of protest as the Centre has been neglecting their demand of clarity on the issue of delimitation, which will be detrimental for Southern states if implemented on the basis of population.
“We have been submitting 6- 7 notices on a daily basis in the House for discussion on delimitation. However, the government is not paying heed. Our demand is that Prime Minister Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah should come to Parliament and make a statement on Delimitation and clarify the government stand,” he said.
The T- shirt protest was not a pressure tactic, said the Rajya Sabha MP adding that they wanted to bring to the attention of the House about the grave consequences of the impending delimitation exercise. Countering Home Minister’s assurance that Southern states will not lose seats as the delimitation exercise will be conducted on pro rata basis, Wilson said that the minister has to clear the air on the formula of pro rata basis.
“Not only Southern states, many other states will also be affected and their numbers will be reduced in the Lok Sabha. We will lose our bargaining power,” he said.
The Union government had suspended delimitation in 1976 with the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, which froze the number of Lok Sabha seats until the 2001 census so that states’ family planning programs would not affect their political representation in the Lok Sabha, he pointed out.
In 2002, the 84th Amendment was passed, which froze the number of the Lok Sabha seats and postponed delimitation ‘until the first Census after 2026, he said, asserting that the 1971 census should be kept as the base for delimitation. “Even after 50 years, population stabilisation has not taken place,” he added.