Chennai. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief Thalapathy Vijay called a meeting of all party MPs on Saturday to address the delimitation issue. MPs from several parties, including the DMK and AIADMK, have distanced themselves from the meeting. According to reports, the DMK has decided that 30 of its MPs will not attend Vijay’s meeting on the delimitation issue. The AIADMK, which has four MPs, and the PMK, MNM, and DMDK, which have one MP each, have also decided not to attend Thalapathy Vijay’s meeting. Tamil Nadu has 57 MPs, 37 of whom abstained from Vijay’s meeting.
DMK MP Kanimozhi said that Vijay called the meeting on delimitation to divert attention from the Mekedatu dam and Cauvery water dispute, as a pretense, and as a sideshow. The DMK MP said that when all Tamil Nadu parties have made their stance on delimitation clear in the all-party meeting, there is no justification for calling the meeting. Kanimozhi stated that DMK leader Stalin remains firm on his previous stance on Tamil Nadu’s representation in Parliament and the need for fair delimitation. She added that the central government has not officially announced that the Delimitation Bill will be passed in the current Parliament session. Furthermore, a revised draft of the bill has not been made available.
Kanimozhi questioned whether the meeting called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was intended to persuade parties to change their established stance on delimitation. The DMK MP also questioned whether, if the Chief Minister is truly concerned about farmers, is he willing to send government representatives, along with Tamil Nadu MPs, to meet with the Union Water Resources Minister and introduce a resolution against the Mekedatu Dam in the Assembly? Indeed, the DMK has demanded an all-party meeting on the Cauvery water and Mekedatu Dam issues. When Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin raised the Mekedatu Dam issue in the Assembly on Friday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had stated that he had proposed talks with Karnataka on the Cauvery water issue.