COIMBATORE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday assured the southern states that they will not lose a “single Parliamentary seat” due to delimitation and accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin of spreading “misinformation” on the issue.
Addressing BJP members after inaugurating a party office here, the Home Minister also rejected Stalin’s claims of “injustice” to the state in the allocation of Central funds, saying the Modi government has provided Rs 5,08,337 crore to the state during the 2014-24 period.
Shah’s assurance came a day after Stalin’s remarks that the delimitation exercise would impact the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, which the Chief Minister claimed stands to lose 8 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats due to delimitation and has convened an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the matter.
“No southern state including Tamil Nadu would see a reduction in the Parliamentary representation when delimitation will be done on a pro rata basis...And I want to reassure the public of South India that Modi ji has kept your interest in mind to make sure that not even one seat is reduced pro rata. Whatever increase is there, Southern states will get a fair share, there is no reason to doubt this,” Shah asserted.
The Modi government has made it clear in the Lok Sabha that no southern state will lose even one seat after delimitation and that the interest of the people of the Southern states will be ensured in the matter, he asserted.
Accusing the Tamil Nadu government of “corruption and anti-national activities”, Shah said the people in the state are anguished over several issues and “the CM and his son (Udhayanidhi) have taken up some issue to divert public attention.”
At the event, which was attended by state party chief Annamalai, Union minister L Murugan, and BJP National Secretary Arvind Menon among others, Shah also asserted that in 2026, Tamil Nadu would witness the formation of an NDA government, signalling the new era.
On Central fund allocation, Shah said, “I say with statistics that the Modi government gave Rs 5,08,337 crore to Tamil Nadu as against a mere Rs 1.52 lakh crore by the then UPA regime (from 2004-2014). You are saying the Modi government is doing injustice.
But the injustice was done to the state during the UPA regime when you were part of the government then.”
In addition, the Centre provided Rs 1.43 lakh crore to Tamil Nadu to develop its infrastructure, he said.
While the Parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu may not reduce as claimed by the Centre, those in some other states may go up as a result of the delimitation, A Raja, Lok Sabha member, said.
“This could affect Tamil Nadu. Our voice will be stifled in key matters like NEET or jallikattu if there is voting,” he said.
Raja said: “We will withdraw the (March 5) all-party meeting if they declare that the pro rata is not based on population but on the numerical strength of the parliamentary constituency.”
Shah later attended the Mahashivrathri celebrations, organised by Sadhguru’s Isha Yoga Center.