'Tamil Nadu Defeats Delhi,' Says TN CM On Constitution Amendment Bill's Defeat In LS
"On April 23, we will defeat Delhi's arrogance, together with slaves who support that arrogance": Chief Minister M K Stalin
Chennai: Democracy prevailed as the South stood united and made its voice heard, DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin said, reacting to the defeat of the delimitation Bill in Parliament on Friday, clarifying that his party never opposed delimitation but only wanted fairness for the process that was consulted, thought through and agreed upon.
Averring that Tamil Nadu, which was among the earliest to implement women’s reservation in local bodies, wanted the Women’s Reservation Bill to be implemented immediately, Stalin, in a social media message, said the NDA could have delivered it by delinking it from delimitation but chose not to.
Since delimitation was about representation and about who got a voice in India’s democracy which must strengthen the Union not weaken its balance, Tamil Nadu that had always stood for justice, dignity and federalism did not want the Bill to be pushed through for political gain as its resolve was to rise united and unwavering every time its rights were challenged and every time its identify or culture was questioned, he said.
The State would also not keep quiet when the federal spirit of India was tested, he said and clarified that the BJP government that called for a special session in the middle of State elections more than two and a half years after the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 had said that it could not be implemented without a Census and delimitation.
So now, the BJP government could have delinked the two Bills. It could also have consulted the States on delimitations and addressed the concerns raised over delimitation in the Bill, he said.
Later addressing a campaign meeting in Dindigul, in which he canvassed votes for candidate of the Secular Progressive Alliance, Stalin said that the NDA had bitten the dust even before the elections, referring to the defeat of the delimitation bill and said the victory was a historic one, marking the onset of the fascist BJP’s downfall.
Opposition parties had asked if the Bill could be defeated by raising black flags and donning black shirts but now they had learnt a lesson through the first debacle of the Narendra Modi government. Stalin, who was attired in black, changed to his usual white shirt on hearing about the development in Parliament and continued with his campaign.
