Delimitation: What matters is what PM, HM say, not Annamalai, says DKS

The claims made by BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai over Parliamentary delimitation not affecting the southern states do not matter and it is the words of the prime minister and the home minister that count, Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai before departing for Bengaluru, the Karnataka Congress chief also took a jibe at Annamalai, saying he was "being loyal to the party" and not to Tamil Nadu.

"Annamalai is not important here, it is important what the prime minister (Narendra Modi) and the home minister (Amit Shah) are conveying to the country. Poor Annamalai doesn't know anything," he said.

"He is just doing his job, he wanted to show more loyalty to his party.... he is not showing loyalty to his state, he is showing loyalty to his party," Shivakumar charged.

The deputy CM was in Chennai to attend the 'fair delimitation' meeting convened by DMK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday.

Stalin has been claiming that delimitation based on population would result in a decrease in Lok Sabha seats for south Indian states. The meeting on Saturday urged an extension on the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies, based on the 1971 population Census, by another 25 years.

Shah had earlier said the delimitation on a pro rata basis would not affect south Indian states. Annamalai had also been maintaining the same stand, which he reiterated on Saturday as well.

Shivakumar further said Stalin had 'taken into confidence over 50 political parties in the state earlier, apparently referring to an all-party meet in the state on delimitation, and lauded him for doing a "good job" on the matter.

This is further evidence of Stalin's leading role on the delimitation issue, one which he has adopted for a month or so now, making him a standout leader within the Opposition INDIA bloc who has been rallying parties not just in his own state but across the country, in an attempt to place curbs on the proposed delimitation exercise.

With PTI inputs