Udhayanidhi slams BJP, burns Delimitation Bill copy in Madurai

Madurai/Theni: Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday said the BJP posed a "significant threat" to Tamil Nadu and its rights and framed the upcoming assembly election as a decisive battle to safeguard the state.Campaigning in Madurai and Theni districts, he condemned the BJP and burned a copy of the Delimitation Bill in Madurai, accusing the Union government of attempting to reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary representation. Udhayanidhi and party candidates appeared at the event dressed in black. He campaigned for DMK candidates and sitting minister P Moorthy (Madurai East) and G Thalapathy (Madurai North) and said attempts by "Sanghis" to gain a foothold in Madurai had repeatedly failed as people continued to reject them. Targeting the centre, he flagged the delay in the proposed AIIMS hospital in Madurai. "It has been 11 years since the foundation stone was laid, but there has been no progress," he said. On delimitation, he alleged that the BJP-led Union government was attempting to reduce the state's representation. While Tamil Nadu currently has 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, a fair delimitation should increase it to 59, he claimed, but the Centre was seeking to limit it to 47, resulting in a loss of 12 seats. He accused the Union government of "rushing" the Delimitation Bill to "snatch away the rights of Tamils" and urged people to oppose measures that, he said, would suppress the state's voice. Later in the day, he campaigned in Andipatti and Bodinayakanur constituencies in Theni district in support of DMK candidates, sitting MLA A Maharajan and former chief minister O Paneerselvam, respectively. MSID:: 130311039 413 |