CHENNAI: Welcoming the union government’s move to implement 33% reservation for women in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha, and delimitation exercise, CM MK Stalin on Tuesday reiterated the proposed delimitation should not disturb the existing representation of states in the Parliament.
He also urged the centre to convene a special Parliament session in June to discuss and enact the necessary amendments for implementing these measures.
Referring to reports that the centre may carry out delimitation based on the 2011 Census to advance the implementation of women’s reservation, he said the step is not in line with The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed by the government for the implementation of the reservation and its earlier decision to take up the initiative after delimitation based on 2026 Census.
“This is most probably aimed at securing electoral gains in the forthcoming Assembly elections in four major states. Pushing such a vital step when the MCC is in force is unprecedented,” he posted on X. “Having said that, as the President of the DMK and the proud inheritor of the Dravidian legacy that has spearheaded women’s empowerment for more than a century, I fully support the initiative without any preconditions, while at the same time stressing our right to fair delimitation,” he added.