Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Joseph Vijay is chairing a meeting of Members of Parliament in Chennai on Saturday to discuss the issue of delimitation.
The meeting is being held at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chepauk, Chennai, and is aimed at discussing Tamil Nadu's concerns over the proposed delimitation exercise and its potential impact on the state's parliamentary representation.
MPs from various parties are attending the meeting convened by the TVK government.
However, the ruling DMK, AIADMK and PMK have decided to boycott the meeting, expressing their opposition to participating in the discussions convened by the TVK government.
While the Congress and the opposition parties have expressed support for the women's reservation bill, they opposed the delimitation exercise, seeking to increase the number of seats in the Lower House of Parliament. The Opposition has demanded delinking of women's reservation from the delimitation exercise.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 was passed in both Houses of Parliament, but failed to move ahead with implementation after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill fell in the Lok Sabha on April 17, not being able to receive the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
The Bill was linked to 33 per cent women's reservation in legislatures and delimitation in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Parliamentary Party leader Kanimozhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the TVK government, terming the all-party meeting on delimitation convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay as a "drama" intended to divert public attention from the ongoing Cauvery water crisis.
In a post on social media platform X, Kanimozhi alleged that the TVK government was using the delimitation issue as a political shield.
"While protests are ongoing for the Cauvery issue, today's all-party meeting is merely a drama staged by the TVK government to divert attention from the Cauvery issue, instead of convening a meeting against the Mekedatu Dam," she remarked.
