Stalin wears black attire, hoists black flag and burns copy of delimitation bill
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin wore black attire, hoisted a black flag, and burnt a copy of the delimitation bill to protest against the proposed law.
He termed the Centre’s proposed law on delimitation a ‘black law’. The Parliament is holding a special three-day sitting to introduce a set of legislation in the Lok Sabha, including the Constitution amendment bill, a delimitation bill, and an enabling law for Union territories with legislatures — Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry — to fast-track implementation of the women’s reservation law passed in 2023.
On April 15, Stalin announced a state-wide black flag agitation on Thursday against the proposed delimitation exercise and warned the Centre of consequences and a “heavy price” if it did not heed to Tamil Nadu’s voice.
“The BJP is playing with fire.” If the Union government refused to respect Tamil Nadu’s voice and step back, it will face the consequences, Stalin had said.
He had said that the nation may have to witness again “the DMK of the 1950’s and the 1960’s,” apparently referring to the party’s early phase in which it spearheaded a slew of agitations over state rights and against alleged imposition of Hindi.
Addressing election rallies in northern Tamil Nadu, Stalin alleged on April 14 that the draft bill on women’s reservation showed that it was a “conspiracy” that would increase the gap between Tamil Nadu and the northern states, when delimitation was implemented.