Tamil Nadu Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay's meeting with the state's MPs on the Centre's proposed delimitation exercise faced a major setback on Saturday, with 37 of the state's 57 MPs staying away.
The meeting, called to discuss the potential impact of delimitation on Tamil Nadu, was attended by 20 MPs. The state has 39 Lok Sabha and 18 Rajya Sabha MPs.
The absence of a large number of MPs, including those from the DMK and AIADMK, has emerged as a setback for the Chief Minister.
DMK, AIADMK MPs Among Those Absent
The MPs who attended the meeting were primarily from the Congress and its allies. Twelve Congress MPs, two VCK MPs, two CPI MPs, two CPM MPs, one MDMK MP and one IUML MP were present.
The DMK had already announced that its MPs would boycott the meeting.
According to an ANI report, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar sent separate invitations to MPs on August 6 and 7.
The 30 DMK MPs, along with four AIADMK MPs, one PMK MP, one MNM MP and one DMDK MP, did not attend.
DMK Links Participation To Mekedatu Issue
Those who stayed away from the meeting alleged that the Vijay government was attempting to divert public attention from the Cauvery water dispute.
The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing Cauvery river water has persisted for decades and has returned to the spotlight following Karnataka's proposal to construct the Mekedatu project on the Cauvery. Tamil Nadu has opposed the project.
Chief Minister Vijay had proposed talks between the two states to resolve the dispute.
According to PTI, DMK sources said the party's MPs would not attend the meeting as the party maintains that it would participate in such a discussion only if the government convenes an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue.
A DMK MP said, "Inviting MPs is a wrong move; the government should have first invited the party's top leadership. The job of MPs is to follow the party's stance. This meeting is unnecessary."
Congress Opposes Population-Based Delimitation
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said there was complete consensus among those who attended the meeting that Tamil Nadu's rights must be protected.
"The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister called a meeting of all Tamil Nadu MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. About 21 of us attended the meeting, and there was complete consensus that Tamil Nadu's rights must be protected. Our representation in Parliament cannot be reduced. Any changes or delimitations based on population or any other basis will be opposed."
Chidambaram said the Congress wants the strength of the Lok Sabha to remain at 543 and Tamil Nadu to retain its existing representation of 39 MPs.
"We want the Parliament to remain at 543 and the seat distribution among the states to remain the same, meaning Tamil Nadu should have 39 members in a 543-member House. Our unanimous opinion is that a larger Parliament would be ineffective and would not benefit Tamil Nadu. Therefore, we want the Parliament to remain at 543 and Tamil Nadu's representation of 39 Lok Sabha MPs to remain the same."
