'Have babies immediately': Stalin amid delimitation row

TRICHY: Tamil Nadu's crusade against delimitation took "baby steps" towards a full-blown public showdown with the Centre on Monday, with CM M K Stalin calling on newlyweds to "immediately" have children for the state to have an upper hand when the exercise is rolled out in over a year.

The CM was speaking at a wedding ceremony in Nagapattinam, suggesting that the state's successful population control has now turned out to be a disadvantage. "With policies such as delimitation that Union govt is planning to implement, we cannot say that (population control is a success). So I would now urge newlyweds to immediately have babies and give them good Tamil names," Stalin said.

This comes as the governing DMK and the CM have accused the BJP-led Centre of hatching a conspiracy to reduce constituencies in TN under the garb of delimitation. "It is a danger aimed at reducing our representation and crushing our voice," Stalin said at a political event later.

Stalin had previously described the proposed delimitation as a "sword" hanging over southern states. Congress-governed Karnataka and Telangana have extended support to Stalin on the issue.

The CM urged parties, boycotting a March 5 all-party meeting, to set aside political differences and speak in a unified voice against delimitation as well as the Centre's three-language policy under the New Education Policy. The appeal came as BJP, NTK, and TMC opted out of the meeting. "We (DMK) have invited all parties. Many have agreed to participate, but some are planning to skip. I urge them once again to reconsider and join," Stalin said.

The CM accused the Centre of imposing the three-language policy and deliberately withholding funds. "Even children in TN understand this conspiracy. Recently, a girl from Cuddalore donated Rs 10,000, saying, 'If the Union government won't provide funds, I will.' This reflects the prevailing sentiment in the state, which the BJP-NDA fails to grasp," Stalin said.

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