CHENNAI: AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran on Thursday unleashed a scathing attack on TVK govt for changing its stand on delimitation within a week of passing a resolution in the Tamil Nadu assembly demanding that he Union govt freeze the number of seats in Parliament at the existing 543.During his speech at the Southern Zonal Council in Mamallapuram on Thursday, chief minister C Joseph Vijay urged the Centre to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state would suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament on account of its success in population stabilization.Dhinakaran stated that Vijay’s speech suggested that TVK govt, which had earlier opposed delimitation, was changing its stand on it. “Is the TVK govt shifting its stance on parliamentary delimitation,” he asked and noted that the chief minister’ statement at the Southern Zonal Council meeting had laid bare the political drama orchestrated to distract from pressing state issues.He said just weeks after convening a meeting with alliance MPs on Aug 8 and rushing a resolution against delimitation through Assembly on Aug 12, CM Vijay’s recent remarks presented a glaring contradiction. After leading the charge against the exercise, his sudden request before Union home minister Amit Shah to legally safeguard representation reveals a flip-flop every passing week, Dhinakaran said.“This political theatre unfolds even as the Union govt has made no official announcement regarding delimitation. Moreover, repeating these demands directly in front of home minister Amit Shah — who had already assured that Tamil Nadu’s representation would not be reduced — makes govt’s posturing look entirely redundant,” he said.“Having failed to deliver on key poll promises made to farmers and the public, the TVK administration is resorting to grandstanding to divert public attention. Instead of staging empty resolution dramas, chief minister Vijay must stop shifting goalposts and focus on constructive action that genuinely serves the interests of Tamil Nadu and its people,” he added.
