Tamil Nadu will come to streets if delimitation harms state: CM Stalin to PM Modi

Alleging that a Constitutional Amendment on delimitation was being pushed through in Parliament during election season, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday warned the BJP-led Union Government that Tamil Nadu “will not remain silent” and “will register its protest with full force” if the state is harmed during the exercise.

In a video message, Stalin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that every family will take to the streets, and he will organise a massive agitation against the delimitation, which he feared will disproportionately enhance the political power of the northern states.

“Do not assume that, since this is an election period and attention is elsewhere, you can quietly carry out delimitation in Delhi. Do not even entertain that thought. I speak not merely as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, but as the leader of a great movement, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,” Stalin told Modi.

“You will witness a Tamil Nadu that you have not seen before. India will once again witness the spirit of the DMK of the 1950s and 1960s. Do not mistake this for a threat. This is a warning,” Stalin said, referring to the massive protests that Tamil Nadu witnessed against Hindi imposition.

Stalin told Modi that even if he chose to interpret it as a threat, it does not concern him and said he was issuing a warning from Tamil Nadu.

“Elections and being in power are secondary to us. We are a people of self-respect. For us, principles matter. The rights of states matter...If you imagine that you can wrong Tamil Nadu and move on as usual, you are mistaken. Hon’ble Prime Minister, I repeat, this is the final warning issued to you from Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Stalin had in March 2025 convened a meeting of Chief Ministers from Southern states during which they urged the Union Government to extend the freeze on the number and state-wise distribution of Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years beyond 2026 and engage with all stakeholders before carrying out the exercise.

In his statement, Stalin said DMK MPs, despite them being in the midst of campaigning, will participate in the Special Session of Parliament on April 16. He said the southern states controlled population only on the advice of the Union Government and asked why are they now being punished for merely following the advice.

“This hurried attempt to push through delimitation is a blatant assault on democracy by the BJP government. More than that, it is a direct assault on the rights of states. We do not even know how this delimitation exercise is going to be carried out. No explanation has been provided so far regarding the proposed Constitutional amendment,” Stalin said.

When such secrecy surrounds this process, Stalin said, it only strengthens the suspicion that a grave danger lies beneath, he added.

Stalin has been terming delimitation as a “Damocles Sword” hanging over the heads of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana, which together account for 129 Lok Sabha seats.

The Southern states want the “present ratio” of Parliament and Assembly constituencies in states which were fixed based on the 1971 Census to continue till all states follow population control measures rigorously.

The “penalized” feeling isn’t related to Delimitation alone but extends to the devolution of Central taxes, which has been on the downslide in successive Finance Commissions

With just 130 seats across the five states and Puducherry, the South already feels it isn’t able to play a role in the government formation even if it votes en bloc, and these states say it is natural for them to feel threatened over any reduction from the current representation that is already considered low.

Even if the number of Parliament seats is increased, the South is likely to get a raw deal as the number of seats for Northern states will witness an exponential increase, while their numbers will go up only marginally