Women’s quota bill a disguise to rob South India’s rights: DMK’s Maran

DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday claimed that the BJP Government at the Centre was using the women’s reservation amendment bill as a disguise to ensure the delimitation and thereby take away the rights of the southern States.

The BJP, which was “nonexistent” in Tamil Nadu, can’t expect respect for taking away the rights of the southern States, Maran, who represents Chennai Central constituency in the Lok Sabha, said.

“We requested the people of Tamil Nadu to hoist black flags from their houses tomorrow to show their dissent (to delimitation) and the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP are trying to ruin the country. With the disguise of women’s reservation amendment bill, Modi is trying to bring the delimitation and attempting to take away the rights of the southern states,” Maran said.

“This is not the way to run a democratic country. They want to take away our powers... we have been disagreeing with this, and tomorrow we will ensure the bill is not passed. We will wear black dresses on April 16 to show our discontent,” he further said.

Maran claimed that the BJP was nonexistent in Tamil Nadu. “And after you take away our rights, do you expect us to respect you?” he asked.

A special three-day sitting of Parliament will be held from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, mandating 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, will be brought for implementation in 2029.

The number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the last published Census.