Did MK Stalin take U-turn on population policy? CM makes rare ‘immediately have babies’ appeal amid delimitation row

Amid the row arising out of the Indian government’s proposed delimitation exercise, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin on Monday urged the people of the state to ‘immediately’ have babies. However, this appeal seems to have gone in the opposite direction of Tamil Nadu’s stance on population control.

On Monday, CM Stalin, while attending the wedding function of a DMK district secretary at Nagapattinam, warned people that Tamil Nadu’s political representation could be impacted by population-based delimitation and appealed to them to keep their egos aside and listen to his call.

“I urge them to attend as well. Please set aside ego. Don’t think why should you listen to my call,” News18 quoted CM Stalin.

Speaking about the changing demographic scenario, CM Stalin said, “Earlier, we used to say, take your time and have a baby. But now the situation has changed, and we should say it now.”

He said that the issue is concerning because delimitation is likely to be implemented based on population census figures. “We implemented family planning successfully, and now we are facing such a situation,” Stalin said.

Re-emphasising his stance, the chief minister urged the newlyweds to have babies soon after their marriage so that the state could have a good political representation after the delimitation.

“But now, with schemes such as delimitation that the Union Government is planning to implement, we cannot say that. We focused on family planning, but we were pushed into a situation such as this. So I would now urge newlyweds to immediately have babies and give them good Tamil names,” several media outlets at the wedding ceremony quoted Stalin. 

Stalin’s Rebuke to Modi-led Indian Government

CM MK Stalin said in February that the successful implementation of family planning policies in Tamil Nadu has disadvantaged the state.

In a strong message to the Centre, Stalin stated that Tamil Nadu would not accept a process that he believed would unfairly disadvantage southern states.

The crux of Stalin’s argument was that redrawing parliamentary constituencies solely based on population would penalise states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully controlled population growth through proactive measures.

“Our demand is clear — don’t determine parliamentary constituencies based on population alone. Do not penalise the Southern states that took responsible measures to control population growth,” Stalin said in a video statement.

“If delimitation is implemented based on population census, Tamil Nadu will lose eight MPs. This will lead to Tamil Nadu losing representation in Parliament,” the chief minister stated.

Stalin’s message also took aim at the broader impact of delimitation on other southern states like Karnataka and Telangana, as well as Punjab in the north.

“The central government insists they will not impose their will on the states, but their actions suggest otherwise,” he said, accusing New Delhi of pushing an agenda favouring northern states where the BJP has a strong voter base.

Stalin’s criticism isn’t just aimed at delimitation’s political and cultural consequences. He warned that it could impact the allocation of federal funds, exacerbating existing economic imbalances between India’s northern and southern states.

Tamil Nadu has already faced financial repercussions due to its refusal to adopt a three-language policy that includes Hindi, CM Stalin noted, and the delimitation process threatens to compound those injustices.

What is the Delimitation process?

Delimitation Process is a constitutionally mandated redrawing of electoral boundaries following each national decennial Census to ensure equitable representation across states.

However, the number of parliamentary seats has been frozen since 1976 to prevent a sudden shift in political power to populous northern states. Then, PM Indira Gandhi imposed a moratorium, which was initially extended to 2001 and later to 2026, intending to protect the political representation of states that had managed to stabilize their population growth.