CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday advised newly-married couples to have babies, but not many. His call came against the backdrop of the proposed delimitation exercise by the Centre, which the southern states believe will reduce their influence in national politics.
Udhayanidhi was presiding over the marriage of 72 couples organised by the ruling DMK as part of Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin’s 72nd birthday celebrations.
Earlier, on March 3, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged couples in the state to "give birth to a child immediately" to ensure greater representation in Parliament.
Stalin emphasised that the number of MPs is directly tied to population, saying, "With 39 MPs, we are fighting for rights, with more MPs, we can achieve our thoughts."
While the CM stopped with encouraging the newlyweds to have children, the deputy CM went a step further and added that it is important to not give birth to many children.
Addressing the gathering, Udhayanidhi said “Tamil Nadu effectively implemented the Union Government’s family planning measures to control population. However, our state is being punished now for that by means of delimitation.”
He expressed concerns that MP's seats in Tamil Nadu would go down whereas seats in northern states, where there is a higher population, would go up due to the delimitation, which is expected to happen in 2026.
DMK has been spearheading the opposition against the delimitation exercise if it is done based on the present population.
He further said he was happy that many of the 72 weddings were inter-caste marriages or marriages borne out of love and not arranged by families. “We have to thank the Dravidian leaders for making these self-respect marriages possible,” he said.
The event was organised by the party’s Chennai East district secretary and minister PK Sekar Babu at Kalaivanar Hall.
Wedding gifts were given to all the couples, who predominantly hailed from financially weaker sections, by Udhayanidhi, which included cooking vessels , washing machine, smart TV, refrigerator, mixer, grinder and a steel cot.
Saranya, mother of a bridge groom, who works as a domestic helper at Teynampet, said “My son Settu has married Harihara Priya here. I am very happy now. Some of my relatives thought how could I conduct marriage for my son with my meagre income. But today their marriage happened in a big hall and also before Udhayanidhi Stalin. They have also given us everything needed for a married couple as wedding gifts.”
Groom Stephan Raj’s mother, a widow from Vyasarpadi, said “I am a sweeper. We are financially disadvantaged. My son has married my brother’s daughter here. My brother’s family is also poor. I am happy that the party has arranged their marriage.”
Bride Saritha’s mother, U Selvarani, who sells flowers at Paris Corner, said “If we had to conducted this marriage on our own, we would need to borrow money from others. We could not buy these things. Now I am relieved of this burden.”
Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ponmudi and RS MP MM Abdulla met with Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to discuss the necessary steps to be taken regarding the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies by the BJP government. The DMK Minister also invited the Karnataka Deputy CM to participate in the meeting of representatives from South Indian states, being organized by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin in Chennai on March 22.
(With inputs from ANI)