Don’t oppose delimitation bid to honour population changes, says BJP

CHENNAI: The sole BJP member in the Assembly, M Bhojarajan, took potshots at the resolution adopted in the House after walking out, opposing the move. Talking to media persons outside the Assembly, he said that a state should not stand against change, as a fresh redrawing of constituencies is most needed after population growth and changes.

Describing the move as unnecessary at this stage, he said, "Change is permanent, and we have to move according to population growth."

Referring to the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency, which comprises parts of four districts, Bhojarajan said that smaller boundaries would help serve people better. Hitting out at Minister Vanni Arasu, he said that attempts to view people through a north-south divide were unwarranted. He flayed the VCK member for his remarks that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister would change their positions on the issue between what they say inside Parliament and what they say outside. "Such statements are not acceptable," he said.

Bhojarajan stressed the need for political unity, saying that a united Tamil Nadu and South India could produce a leader capable of becoming Chief Minister, in a veiled dig at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, after PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna's claim that a new Prime Minister would evolve from Tamil Nadu.

BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran took up the issue and opposed the TVK-led coalition government's resolution against delimitation, calling it detrimental to Tamil Nadu's interests and urging Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to reconsider the decision.

Nainar said delimitation was necessary to ensure equitable representation in Parliament in line with population growth and maintained that "one vote, one value" was the foundation of democracy. Redrawing constituencies, he said, was not merely a question of boundaries but a means of ensuring that every citizen's voice received equal weight in Parliament.

He said the Union government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had assured that decisions would not adversely affect any state, particularly those in the south. "Instead of blindly opposing such reforms, the Chief Minister should reconsider the government's decision, " he said in a statement.