CM Stalin's message to PM Modi at all-party meeting: 'Delimitation based on 1971 census only after 2026'

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi  to assure that the delimitation process will be done based on the 1971 census only after 2026 and for the next 30 years.

"We urge the Prime Minister to assure that the delimitation process will be done based on the 1971 census only after 2026 and for the next 30 years. We also demand that the number of parliamentary seats should be increased and the necessary constitutional amendments should be made. This all-party meeting places these demands as the minimum expectations of Tamil Nadu. We will take this issue to the people and create awareness about it. We will also form a joint action committee for MPs from South India to take this issue forward," said the CM while addressing an all-party meeting on the delimitation exercise.

Chennai | During the all-party meeting over delimitation issue, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin says, " We urge the Prime Minister to assure that the delimitation process will be done based on the 1971 census only after 2026 and for the next 30 years. We also demand that the number of pic.twitter.com/R679ba2Te0

ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025

According to the Tamil Nadu CM, if the number of parliamentary seats is increased, the state should get 22 additional seats. "However, according to the current population, we will only get 10 additional seats, which means we will lose 12 seats. This is a direct attack on the political representation of Tamil Nadu in Indian democracy. The voice of Tamil Nadu is being stifled. The strength of our state in protecting the interests of its people is being reduced," said Stalin.

Meanwhile,  TN BJP Vice President Narayanan Thirupathy said there is no doubt that South India has helped the country in decreasing the population, which is why it got 0.5% in the Finance Commission. "Only the BJP government recognised their contribution, not even the DMK. MK Stalin said that Sanskrit is a dead language. Then why was it included in the scheduled language in 2005 when DMK was a part of the UPA government?... MK Stalin has taken an oath on the Indian constitution, not on the Tamil Nadu Constitution. He should understand this as a responsible Chief Minister... He should ask his MPs to resign if they are against Hindi as the official language declared by The Parliament of India, the Constitutional Assembly... If he actually loved Tamil, he would have instantly accepted the National Education Policy to grow Tamil everywhere in India...," he told ANI.

Earlier on Wednesday, writing to party workers as part of his series on the theme of "all-time opposition to Hindi imposition," Stalin recalled DMK founder leader C N Annadurai's views on the issue. Decades ago, Anna had said that the party's objective is not to oppose Hindi, but to get equal recognition to Indian languages including Tamil.

While the BJP claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held Tamil in high esteem and that the 3-language formula is for the growth of languages of the states,  the difference in allocation of funds for Tamil and Sanskrit would make it pretty clear that they are "enemies" of Tamil, Stalin alleged.