If delimitation is carried out, India will witness massive protests by DMK similar to those of 1950s & 60s: Stalin

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday issued a stern warning to BJP, stating that if Union govt proceeded with the delimitation exercise, the country will witness a massive protest by DMK similar to the protests held in the 1950s and 1960s against Hindi imposition.In a video message on X, Stalin said Tamil Nadu would come to a standstill if BJP went ahead with its plan of introducing the legislation to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 in the special Parliament session from April 16 to 18.“Do not assume that you can quietly carry out delimitation in Delhi since this is election period and our attention is elsewhere. Don’t even entertain that thought,’’ Stalin said.Stalin said he was speaking not only as the CM of Tamil Nadu, but also as the president of DMK. “You will witness a Tamil Nadu that you have not seen before. India will once again witness DMK of the 1950s and 1960s,” he said.The CM said if the delimitation affects TN, every family in the state will protest. “If anything is done that harms Tamil Nadu, or that disproportionately enhances the political power of northern states, we in Tamil Nadu will not remain silent.

Tamil Nadu will come to a standstill. Every family will take to the streets. Under my leadership, we will organise massive agitations,” Stalin said.He questioned the rationale behind convening the special Parliament session in a hurried manner. “It is being forcibly convened in the midst of elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In this session, Union govt intends to bulldoze through a Constitutional amendment on delimitation,” Stalin said.Raising doubts over the proposed delimitation exercise, Stalin said nobody was aware of the specifics of the process to be followed. “No explanation has been provided so far regarding the proposed Constitutional amendment. When such secrecy surrounds the process, it only strengthens the suspicion that grave danger lies beneath. The people of the southern states are gripped with deep concern,” Stalin said.Stalin confirmed the participation of DMK MPs in the session. “Even amid the relentless pace of election campaigning, this duty cannot be set aside,” Stalin said.