PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president and Member of Parliament V Vaithilingam on Wednesday urged Chief Minister N Rangasamy to join the Southern states, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, in opposing the proposed delimitation exercise by the centre. He called on Rangasamy to pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly to safeguard Puducherry’s interests.
Addressing the media at the PCC office, Vaithilingam criticised the chief minister for remaining silent on the issue and demanded that he take a clear stance. “Chief ministers of Southern states have acted in their states’ best interests by convening all-party meetings and forming a Joint Action Committee to coordinate opposition against delimitation. Puducherry must also be part of this effort to ensure fair representation,” he said.
He said that Rangasamy should not prioritise his party’s alliance with the BJP over the Union Territory’s welfare. Highlighting Puducherry’s projected population of 16 lakh by 2026, he said the UT deserved two Lok Sabha seats and 40 Assembly members. “Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, with similar populations, already enjoy greater representation. If delimitation is based on population, Puducherry’s Lok Sabha seats should increase from one to two, and the Assembly’s elected seats from 30 to 40,” he argued. He urged the government to pass a resolution pressing for this increase.
Vaithilingam also called on the Puducherry unit of the DMK to leverage its Assembly presence to pressure the AINRC-BJP government on delimitation and the three-language policy. Criticising the administration’s silence on the National Education Policy (NEP), he accused the chief minister of permitting CBSE in government schools and cautioned against compromising on delimitation, which he said would impact future generations.
On another issue, he opposed any move to rename the redeveloped New Bus Stand and insisted it retain its original name—'Rajiv Gandhi Bus Terminus'—in honour of the former prime minister. Instead, he suggested naming the proposed mega flyover after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
When asked about Speaker R Selvam’s challenge to Congress leader and former chief minister V Narayanasamy to contest against him in the Manavely constituency, Vaithilingam dismissed it, asserting that even an ordinary Congress worker could defeat Selvam in the seat.