DMK to mobilise political parties across India against delimitation exercise

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin assigns key Ministers to visit different States, engage with regional political parties, urging them to join Joint Action Committee that will scrutinise implications of delimitation proposal

Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has decided to mobilise political parties across India to oppose the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise.

The decision was taken during a meeting of DMK Parliamentarians at the party headquarters, ‘Anna Arivalayam’, under the leadership of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin.

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According to sources within the party, Chief Minister Stalin assigned key Ministers to visit different States and engage with regional political parties, urging them to join a joint action committee that will scrutinise the implications of the delimitation proposal.

State IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan has been tasked with reaching out to Kerala, while Ministers EV Velu, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and TRB Rajaa will travel to Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Odisha, respectively.

Additionally, DMK MPs have been directed to collaborate with other opposition MPs in Delhi to mount a strong challenge against the delimitation exercise in Parliament. The party has consistently voiced concerns about the issue, alongside its opposition to the union government’s three-language policy.

The DMK plans to raise multiple issues in the upcoming parliamentary session. Apart from delimitation and the three-language policy, the party will focus on the delay in the allocation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds, the denial of flood relief assistance, and the non-disbursement of funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme due to Tamil Nadu’s rejection of the National Education Policy (NEP).

The decision to aggressively push these issues comes amid criticism from opposition parties, including the newly formed Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor Vijay, regarding the DMK MPs performance in Parliament. By taking a proactive stance, the DMK aims to counter these criticisms effectively.

Chief Minister Stalin has also criticised what he describes as the union government’s discriminatory allocation of funds for language development. He highlighted that while Tamil is spoken by approximately eight crore people, only Rs 74 crore has been allocated for its development.

In contrast, Sanskrit, which has a significantly smaller number of speakers, has received Rs 1,488 crore. Stalin has been vocal about the BJP-led government’s alleged attempts to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu through the NEP’s three-language policy. His opposition extends beyond India, as he recently supported a protest by the Tamil diaspora in the United States against the policy.

Tamil Diaspora Protests in the USA group of Tamil protesters in Dallas, US, recently demonstrated against the union government’s language policy, accusing it of undermining Tamil Nadu’s long-standing two-language system. Stalin expressed solidarity with the demonstrators by sharing a news report and a video of the protest, using the hashtag #VazhgaTamil.

The DMK’s firm stand against both the three-language policy and the proposed delimitation exercise signals its continued resistance to what it perceives as attempts to diminish Tamil Nadu’s linguistic and political influence.