Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin burns a copy of the proposed Delimitation bill during a protest, in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu on Thursday | Photo Credit: PTI

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday further escalated its protests against the proposed delimitation exercise as part of the Women’s Reservation Bill. 

Chief Minister MK Stalin burnt a copy of the Delimitation Bill in Namakkal as part of a state-wide protest. Calling the bill a ‘black law’ and a conspiracy to make Tamils refugees in their own land, the DMK President urged people to hoist black flags in every home and public place. 

Many DMK leaders and functionaries across the State heeded his calls, carrying out their campaigning activities for the upcoming assembly clad in black and hoisting black flags across the state. DMK MPs, including TR Baalu, Dayanidhi Maran and Thamizhachi Thangapandian, attended the Parliament session in black. 

Udhayanidhi burns copy of bill

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also burnt a copy of the bill in Madurai and said that people of Tamil Nadu will take to the streets if the number of seats is reduced. “We will raise it before the people of Tamil Nadu who will come to the streets. We will oppose whatever BJP is trying to do through delimitation,” he said.

DMK’s protest stems from the claim that the seat redistribution based on population could reduce the parliamentary representation of Tamil Nadu and other southern states that adhered to the nation’s call for population control in the 1970s. 

Other parties in the State like the Congress, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) have also expressed their opposition to the delimitation exercise bill. 

Meanwhile, the central government on Wednesday sought to allay concerns and clarified that the delimitation, based on the 2011 Census will lead to a 50 per cent increase in the number of current seats for all states across the country.

Published on April 16, 2026