CHENNAI: The Delimitation Commission will be the final authority to decide the basis of delimitation, according to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The commission will have the ultimate say in the matter, the finance minister said in an interaction with journalists in Chennai on Saturday.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah clarified that southern states will not be affected. Contrary to what Congress and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi says, the BJP never said delimitation will be carried out based on population.”
Nirmala explained that the Delimitation Commission will be formed only after the population census is undertaken. “The Delimitation Commission will go around the country and will get views of all the states. It will be the final authority to decide the basis of delimitation,” she said.
To counter the opposition argument that population is the only criterion for delimitation, Nirmala cited Ladakh as an example. She said, “If population is considered as the sole factor, Ladakh would not have a single representative, but there are several other factors beyond it.”
Criticising the DMK, Nirmala said the Dravidian major has taken up the issue of delimitation in a hurry to divert attention from corruption and other issues. “They have not done anything for the welfare of the state. If they did four good things, they did 40 bad things.
There is a question in the Anna University rape case about whether their partyman is involved. What is the status of the Kallakurichi (hooch tragedy) case, where people died by consuming illicit liquor? The Rs 1000 crore Tasmac scam has surfaced now. They (DMK) know all this will become an issue in the 2026 assembly election and so took up the delimitation issue.”
Highlighting differences among constituent parties in the INDIA bloc over several issues, Nirmala said, “The INDIA bloc is weakening, and there is no unity among them on issues. The Congress leadership is weak, and there is no one to take this forward.”
Referring to the remarks of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tamil Nadu’s stand on the PM Shri Schools scheme, Nirmala said, “Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, DMK accepted the proposal, but after the elections, they backed off. Dharmendra Pradhan said the delegation that met him agreed to sign the MoU for accepting the PM Shri Schools scheme, but DMK MPs are denying it now.”
Quoting the National Education Policy (NEP) document, Nirmala asked, “Tell me where in NEP is Hindi being made mandatory or is it imposed in an indirect manner. Students are given a choice to learn an additional Indian language.”
