DMK urges Centre to use 1997 population data for delimitation

NEW DELHI: DMK leader M Shanmugam on Friday raised concerns over the proposed delimitation exercise in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Centre to base it on the 1997 population data to protect the representation of southern states like Tamil Nadu in Parliament.

This comes ahead of a crucial meeting called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai on March 22, where several state leaders are expected to attend to discuss the matter.

Participating in the discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shanmugam also took exception to Home Minister Amit Shah's recent statement made during his visit to Chennai on March 7.

Shah had assured that there would be "no decrease in the number of Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu" following the delimitation, a remark that, Shanmugam said, "created more confusion than a solution".

Shanmugam emphasised that southern states feared a reduction in their parliamentary seats if the delimitation relied on the latest population data.

"We would demand that if the strength of Lok Sabha constituencies is increased, it should be done on a pro-rata basis. I would demand that the population figures for determining the number of Lok Sabha constituencies should be frozen at the 1997 census data for at least another 25 years," he said.

Shanmugam also pointed out that the Union government has yet to begin the census enumeration process and accused the Centre of "weaponising" southern states, which have followed family planning policies.

He raised concerns that such an approach would unfairly disadvantage these states in the delimitation process.

In addition to the delimitation issue, Shanmugam expressed his dissatisfaction with the government's imposition of Hindi, particularly in the use of Sanskrit in the title of the three British-era criminal laws replaced in 2023.

He also called for the inclusion of minority Muslims and Sri Lankan refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act and urged the government to fulfil its promise of making Jammu and Kashmir a full-fledged state this year.

The DMK leader also criticised the Union government for its "step-motherly" treatment of non-BJP states like Tamil Nadu, highlighting the lower fund allocation of Rs 270 crore for disaster management compared to the state's demand of Rs 36,000 crore.

He also attacked the Centre for not providing adequate funds for police modernisation, calling for better working conditions for police personnel.

Shanmugam further pointed out the under-utilisation of the Home Ministry's budget allocated for police modernisation for the years 2023-24 and 2023-25, stressing the need for more effective use of the funds to improve the functioning of the police force.