TN CM Vijay to meet MPs on delimitation today, DMK skips talks
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is set to chair a meeting of the state's MPs to deliberate on the Union government's proposed delimitation exercise, with DMK parliamentarians set to boycott it.
Vijay is scheduled to chair the meeting at Kalaivanar Arangam here at 3 pm on Saturday, to discuss the Centre's delimitation proposal and its likely impact on the state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar had sent separate invitations to the MPs on August 6 and 7, government sources said.
DMK sources said their MPs will not take part in the discussion led by the chief minister. The party is "sticking to its stand that it will participate if the government convenes an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue," they said.
A party MP told PTI that inviting MPs was a flawed move and the government should have first invited the party's top leadership. "The MPs have a mandate to follow the party line. This meeting is unnecessary. DMK is fully committed to protecting Tamil Nadu's interests, and our party chief M K Stalin is the first to raise his voice against delimitation and has fought against it to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu," he said.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore said in a statement, "Those who place their politics above Tamil Nadu's interests may choose not to attend. But those who put Tamil Nadu first, and politics second, will attend the all-party meeting convened by the chief minister."
"This is not about party politics. It is about Tamil Nadu's rights, interests and future. The people of Tamil Nadu are watching. And they will remember who stood with Tamil Nadu when it mattered," Tagore said.
Congress is an ally of Tamil Nadu's ruling TVK.
On Friday, when Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin raised the Mekedatu issue, CM Vijay said it was he who had proposed holding talks with neighbouring Karnataka on the Cauvery issue (Mekedatu), citing some hope for a positive outcome. The chief minister had declared in the Assembly that he did not wish to indulge in cheap politics on the issue.
