Dismissing the apprehensions of Tamil Nadu and other southern states of their Lok Sabha seats coming down in the proposed delimitation exercise next year, Union Home Minister and BJP strongman Amit Shah on Wednesday assured that not even a single seat will be reduced and accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of spreading a red herring to divert attention on the phenomenal corruption under the DMK regime.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clarified in the Lok Sabha itself that even after delimitation, none of the southern states will not lose the current number of seats in parliament. On the contrary, there would be an increase in seats,” Shah said speaking after inaugurating the newly built BJP office complex in Coimbatore.
He was here to participate in the Maha Shivaratri celebration at Isha Yoga Centre of Jaggi Vasudev on the outskirts of the textile city.
Stalin, who described the delimitation exercise based on population as a Damocles sword hanging over the head of southern states, had said that TamilNadu would stand to lose eight LS seats. It would be a punishment for the southern states for the successful implementation of the family planning programme, he pointed out and had also called for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the ‘threat faced by Tamil Nadu’ and to decide the future course of action to protect the state’s rights.
The Home Minister, accusing the Chief Minister of raking the delimitation to divert attention from the phenomenal corruption under the DMK government. “All the leaders of the DMK are holders of Master’s Degrees in cases of corruption. While one is facing cash for job scam, another has a money laundering case, the third is arraigned in a disproportionate assets case. It feels like that the DMK grants membership selectively to the most corrupt individuals,” Shah alleged and asserted that the time has come to put an end to the DMK’s corrupt and anti-national rule in Tamil Nadu.
“The year 2005 began with a historic victory in Delhi and will conclude by forming an NDA government in Tamil Nadu in the 2026 assembly polls,” Shah said, in an attempt to enthuse the party rank and file.
The BJP strongman also appealed to the cadre to work with renewed enthusiasm to achieve that target.
On Stalin’s charge that the Union Government is unfair in its treatment of Tamil Nadu in the devolution of funds, the Home Minister said in the last 10 years the state was given more than Rs five lakh crore and dismissed the charge as false.