DMK seeks clarity on women‘s quota, delimitation in all-party meet

Chennai, July 19 (IANS) The DMK on Sunday urged the Centre to provide a clear roadmap for implementing the Constitution amendment that grants 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, while reiterating its demand that the quota be calculated on the existing strength of the Lok Sabha and not be linked to a future delimitation exercise.

The demand was raised by DMK’s Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva during the customary all-party meeting convened in New Delhi ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to commence on Monday.

Representatives of major political parties attended the meeting to discuss legislative business and issues likely to be taken up during the session.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Siva said the DMK fully supports women’s reservation but wants the Centre to spell out how and when the constitutional amendment would be implemented.

He said the party favours implementing the quota based on the present strength of the Lok Sabha and opposes any move to tie the reservation to the proposed delimitation exercise.

Siva also expressed concern that the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies could reduce the political representation of southern states, which have successfully controlled population growth over the years.

He urged the Union government to provide greater clarity on the issue and ensure that states in southern India are not placed at a disadvantage.

“If the delimitation exercise adversely affects the southern states, it should be kept in abeyance for 25 years,” Siva said, reiterating the DMK’s long-standing position that population control should not become a reason for reducing parliamentary representation.

Meanwhile, the all-party meeting witnessed high political drama as several Opposition parties, including the DMK, Congress and the Samajwadi Party, staged a walkout. The parties expressed dissatisfaction at the presence of Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) members, a rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress. However, they later returned to the meeting venue.

The meeting was attended by leaders from various political parties, including Tiruchi Siva representing the DMK and M. Thambidurai representing the AIADMK.

The Centre convened the meeting to seek cooperation from political parties for the smooth conduct of the Monsoon Session, during which several important Bills and key national issues are expected to come up for discussion.

The DMK has consistently maintained that women’s reservation should be implemented without delay while safeguarding the political rights and parliamentary representation of southern states in any future delimitation exercise.

–IANS

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