On Thursday, a big fight broke out in Parliament because DMK lawmakers were upset about a plan to redraw electoral district lines. They wore T-shirts that said “Delimitation — Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win,” because they think this new plan could reduce the number of seats for southern states in the Lok Sabha if it is based on population.
When the Rajya Sabha meeting started, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called all the leaders to his room to talk about what he saw in the House, which we learned was about the DMK’s T-shirts. He mentioned that while there aren’t strict rules about what MPs can wear, they should still follow certain behavior standards.
Some lawmakers felt that both the ruling and opposition should follow the same rules. They pointed out that MPs from the ruling party also wear clothes or symbols with messages.
The DMK MPs also wore stoles with messages talking about a previous comment made by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan about their protests regarding the three-language policy in schools.
Since no agreement was reached, the Rajya Sabha had to end the meeting for the day. In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla was also upset and said wearing T-shirts with messages was not right. He emphasized that MPs need to keep the House’s dignity intact and told DMK lawmakers to leave and come back dressed properly.
The rules clearly state that MPs cannot display anything like flags or badges in the House. After many interruptions, the Lok Sabha was also adjourned for the day.
Outside the Parliament, DMK MP K Kanimozhi said that their leader, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, is very worried about how this delimitation could hurt states that have controlled their population. They want a fair process and answers from the central government, but feel confused by the current situation.
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