Chief Minister M.K.Stalin speaking at the Kalaignar birth centenary celebrations in Thanjavur on Friday.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday alleged that there was a conspiracy to reduce the number of Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu under the pretext of delimitation.
“They are conspiring to reduce the number of Lok Sabha constituencies by citing the decline in population. We are being punished for implementing the family planning programme effectively. The 39 Lok Sabha members of the State are there to uphold the rights of the State. The number can be increased, but should not be reduced,” he said at former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s birth centenary celebrations, organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam in Thanjavur.
Stating that the INDIA bloc was an alliance of principles and not just a formation to achieve electoral victory, he said its aim was to ensure equal respect for national as well as State parties in the Union.
Mr. Stalin alleged that the BJP had not brought in the women’s reservation Bill wholeheartedly. The condition that the reservation would come into force only after carrying out delimitation and the Census was a ruse to avoid implementing it. The Act does not provide internal reservation for OBCs, and the quota for SCs/STs might eventually be done away with, he said.
Lauding Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani for bringing out a publication on the relationship between Karunanidhi and his organisation, he said the DK and the DMK would remain together forever.
Earlier, Mr. Veeramani; retired judge of the Madras High Court G.M. Akbar Ali; former West Bengal Chief Secretary G. Balachandran; and the chief of the cult of Ayya Vaikundar of Kanniyakumari, Bala Prajapathi Adikalar, paid tributes to the late DMK leader.
