Kanimozhi accuses Centre of using delimitation to reshape electoral map

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday accused the Centre of attempting to redraw India’s electoral landscape under the guise of implementing women’s reservation.

Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader questioned the government’s intent in introducing a set of proposed legislations, including measures related to women’s reservation and delimitation. She alleged that the move was politically motivated and aimed at safeguarding the ruling party’s future electoral prospects.

Kanimozhi criticised the government for delaying the implementation of the women’s reservation law, which had received unanimous parliamentary approval in 2023. She argued that the current push to operationalise the quota was being used as a pretext to advance broader political objectives.

Taking aim at the proposed linkage between delimitation and reservation, she said the Centre was seeking to redraw constituency boundaries based on outdated census data. “It is politically convenient for them to alter the country’s electoral map through such measures,” she said.

She also questioned the timing of the special session of Parliament, claiming that Opposition parties’ requests to hold discussions after elections had been ignored. According to her, the government’s urgency now contrasted sharply with its earlier inaction on women’s representation.

The DMK MP dismissed assurances by Amit Shah that southern states would not lose representation following delimitation. She demanded that such commitments be formally incorporated into the legislation rather than conveyed verbally.

Kanimozhi further criticised Narendra Modi over his remarks describing the move as a “civilisational commitment”, arguing that women’s contributions to society had long gone unrecognised.

She urged the government to delink women’s reservation from delimitation and implement the quota within the existing number of Lok Sabha seats. “Why can this not be done immediately?” she asked.

The DMK leader also rejected criticism of her party’s protests against the proposed measures, stating that they would continue to oppose any move they believe undermines democratic principles and women’s rights.

The debate comes amid mounting Opposition resistance to the proposed bills, which are expected to be taken up for discussion during a special parliamentary session.

With IANS inputs