Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai Saturday dismissed concerns over the impending delimitation exercise, calling it “mere drama” and asserting that South Indian states would not lose their parliamentary seats.
Speaking in Chennai, he said statewide black flag protests organised against what he termed as political theatrics, urging the ruling DMK government to focus on more pressing issues.
“Every day now, we wake up to reports of a brutal murder in Tamil Nadu. This is the state of law and order today,” Annamalai said, taking a dig at Chief Minister M K Stalin. He also questioned why the DMK government had not yet conducted a caste census, despite widespread demands. “Telangana has done it. Why not Tamil Nadu? Who is stopping Stalin?”
Annamalai also called on Stalin to confront his counterparts on water-sharing disputes, particularly Karnataka’s Mekedatu dam project.
“D K Shivakumar is here today. He has openly said Karnataka does not need Tamil Nadu’s permission for the Meghadatu dam. Is our Chief Minister going to raise this?,” he asked, alleging that the Karnataka government was pushing ahead with the project despite Tamil Nadu’s objections.
The BJP leader also took aim at Kerala, accusing the neighboring state of advancing its own water projects at Tamil Nadu’s expense.
With Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan attending the Joint Action Committee meeting on Fair Delimitation, Annamalai challenged Stalin to raise Tamil Nadu’s concerns.
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“Kerala is proceeding with similar dam projects. Is Stalin going to discuss this when he meets the Kerala CM today?” he asked.
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