AIADMK’s Kovai Sathyan criticised TVK’s focus on delimitation, alleging it ignores Tamil Nadu’s water crisis. He called the TVK leadership inexperienced and accused them of misplaced priorities, stating farmers’ concerns should come first.
AIADMK Slams TVK’s ‘Misplaced Priorities’
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) national spokesperson Kovai Sathyan on Saturday criticised the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leadership over its focus on the delimitation issue, alleging that the state’s water crisis and the concerns of farmers should be given priority.
Speaking to ANI, Sathyan said that several districts in Tamil Nadu are dependent on the Cauvery River and farmers are facing a shortage of water. He accused the TVK leadership of lacking governance experience and said that the government was not focusing on the state’s pressing issues. “It’s a curse for Tamil Nadu, because people (TVK leaders) with zero experience in governance are running the government like headless chickens. The priority now is water. Farmers are starving without water, and there are 12 districts that are dependent on the Cauvery River. Rather than addressing that issue, Joseph Vijay is taking up the issue of delimitation,” Sathyan said. “It clearly indicates the misplaced priorities of this government. There is no difference between this government and the DMK. They only believe in reels, advertisements, and renaming and rebranding the successful schemes of AIADMK,” he added.
AIADMK Clarifies Stand on Delimitation
On the delimitation exercise, Sathyan said AIADMK’s position was that Tamil Nadu’s proportionate representation in Parliament should not decline from the existing level, irrespective of any increase in the total number of seats. He said Tamil Nadu currently accounts for 7.16 per cent of the total representation in Parliament and asserted that the proportion should remain unchanged after delimitation. He also referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance on the matter. “As far as this delimitation is concerned, it’s pretty much clear that 59 seats will be the number for Tamil Nadu with respect to the 850 MPs that will turn out to be X per cent. Our demand is very clear with respect to this delimitation. The proportionate representation of Tamil Nadu stands at 7.16% with the present number of MPs. Whatever number it may increase, it should not change. And our Home Minister, Amit Shah, has assured that it will not change.”
‘Immature and Incompetent’ Approach
Sathyan also criticised TVK chief Vijay for directly reaching out to AIADMK MPs over the delimitation issue instead of approaching the party leadership. He said the move reflected what he termed a lack of organisational maturity within TVK. “Since our stand is pretty clear, I really don’t understand who has advised Joseph Vijay to call up our MPs directly and invite them rather than addressing it to the party leader, rather than respecting the organisational hierarchy. It clearly shows how immature and incompetent TVK is,” Sathyan said. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)