Tamilnadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai strongly criticised the BJP-led Central government on Saturday, questioning its intent and fairness on multiple fronts, including GST allocation, parliamentary seat delimitation, and cultural politics.
Speaking to reporters at the Coimbatore airport, Selvaperunthagai said, “How can a government that failed to ensure fair GST distribution across states promise a just delimitation of parliamentary constituencies?”
He accused the Centre of deliberately ignoring Tamil Nadu’s interests. “Tamil Nadu is the third largest GST contributor in the country, yet we don’t receive our rightful share. The BJP government continues to treat Tamil Nadu as less than an equal state,” he said, calling the move a betrayal.
Referring to the recent Lord Murugan conference organised by the Union government, the TN Congress leader questioned its motive. “Our Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department had already held a Murugan conference. Why the need now for a second one by the Union government? If they truly believe in equality, they should hold such events in Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh too,” he said, alleging an attempt to stir fear among people.
Commenting on Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Tamil Nadu, he said the BJP was seeking to create chaos in the state. “But the people of Tamil Nadu are politically aware. There is no space for the BJP or the RSS in this land,” he added.
On the proposed parliamentary delimitation, Selvaperunthagai warned that increasing the number of seats from 545 to 1,000 could dilute Tamil Nadu’s voice in Parliament. “Even today, Tamil Nadu struggles to get ten minutes of speaking time. With 1,000 MPs, it might be just two minutes. That’s not justice,” he said.
He demanded that the Union government immediately conduct a caste-wise census and stop delaying it under flimsy pretexts.
