Chennai, Mar 25:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin on Tuesday reaffirmed his party’s long-standing commitment to women’s empowerment, pledging support for women’s reservation in Parliament and State legislatures without any preconditions.
Stressing the importance of fair delimitation, he demanded that a Special Session of Parliament be convened in June to bring in Constitutional amendments for the delimitation and distribution of constituencies.
Highlighting the DMK’s consistent stand that the current proportional representation of States should remain unchanged, Stalin said the delimitation process must include a constitutional provision guaranteeing this balance for the next 30 years.
Citing reports that women’s representation was being considered based on the 2011 Census, he criticized the move, saying it conflicted with the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 passed by the BJP-led Central government, which had earlier committed to take up the initiative only after delimitation based on the post-2026 Census.
Stalin alleged that the step appeared aimed at electoral gains in upcoming Assembly elections in four states, calling it unprecedented to push such a significant initiative while the Model Code of Conduct was in force.
“As the President of the DMK and the inheritor of the Dravidian legacy that has championed women’s empowerment for over a century, I fully support this initiative without preconditions, while asserting the right to fair delimitation,” he said. He urged Parliament to enact these amendments in a Special Session in early June to ensure fair delimitation, increase of seats, continuation of current State representation, and a constitutional guarantee for the next three decades.