‘Notwithstanding elections, we will attend Parliament to oppose bill aimed at increasing number of MPs’

Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram asserted that he and his colleagues would attend the Parliamentary session to vote against the bill aimed at increasing the number of MPs to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to reporters in Karaikudi, here on Monday, he said, “There is no stiff competition in the Karaikudi constituency. We have fielded a local candidate on behalf of the Congress, and we have an excellent Chief Minister. These two factors alone are enough for our victory.”

“Our argument is that local candidates are better than outsiders.”

When Naam Tamilar Katchi chief Seeman’s father-in-law, Kalimuthu, contested the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in 1998, he said despite his election results he would Sivaganga, but he never returned, Mr. Chidambaram alleged.

Similarly, the NTK candidate Ezhilarasi, who contested against him last time, has not visited the constituency since the election. NTK fields new candidates every time who have no connection to the constituency, he added.

“While this issue of outsider candidates also exists in Wayanad, there was no strong local candidate there to speak against it. However, here, we have a strong local candidate; we do not need outsiders,” he observed.

“The Union BJP claim to be convening Parliament for women’s reservation, but reports suggest they intend to pass a bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats. If Parliament is convened during election time, many MPs might not attend,” he said.

“If the 67 MPs from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal who oppose the BJP do not attend, they will amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority. Even though it is election time, we will attend the Parliament session and vote against it for the welfare of Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Chidambaram asserted.