Tamil Nadu Assembly passes two resolutions against Modi government on delimitation, FCRA

Chennai. A big change has taken place in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Within a couple of days, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's government passed resolutions in the Assembly against two key initiatives of the Central government - delimitation and the FCRA Amendment Bill. Significantly, both these proposals were also supported by the chief minister's political rival DMK. With this, Tamil Nadu has become the first state to pass a resolution in the Assembly on these two issues.

Two-hour-long heated debate in the Assembly

On August 12, Chief Minister Vijay moved a resolution against delimitation in the Assembly. The resolution urged the Centre to retain the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha at 543 and ensure that the states, which have effectively implemented population control, do not suffer from delimitation.

The proposal was strongly debated in the Assembly for about two hours, after which it got the approval of the House. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women should not be delayed further due to delimitation. At the same time, he said that the states which have seriously implemented family planning and population control should not get its political loss.

DMK changes stance, supports Vijay Sarkar's proposal

The biggest political turning point in this whole episode was the support of the DMK. DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin said the party has a clear stand that there should be no delimitation of constituencies for the next 25 years. Welcoming the 33 per cent reservation for women, he said the DMK has been at the forefront of movements that first alerted the country to the impact of delimitation.

On behalf of TVK, Minister Aadhav Arjuna thanked the DMK in the Assembly, saying the party deserves gratitude for supporting the resolution against delimitation despite political differences.

The DMK's stand assumes significance as earlier there were speculations that the party might support the Centre's delimitation proposal. A new political situation is emerging in Tamil Nadu.

543 seats should not be increased: Chidambaram

Congress MP P Chidambaram also supported the Tamil Nadu Assembly's move. He said the strength of the Lok Sabha should remain at 543. According to him, the political stakes of the southern states cannot be diluted as these states have implemented family planning and population control policies for decades.

Chidambaram also attacked the government over the FCRA Bill. It is not enough to just send the bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), but it should be withdrawn, he demanded. He alleged that the bill was aimed at targeting minorities.

Assembly passes resolution against FCRA amendment

A day earlier, the Vijay government had also passed a resolution in the Assembly against the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA). The proposal was supported by the DMK.

Introducing the proposal, School Education Minister Rajmohan said the proposed changes in the FCRA could affect the autonomy of charitable organisations. Concerns were raised, in particular, about its impact on the functioning of educational and social welfare institutions run by minority communities.

The Centre was set to push the FCRA Bill in the ongoing monsoon session, but it has been sent to the JPC amid protests by opposition parties and Christian organisations.

Resolution against Centre on NEET

The Vijay government has also passed a resolution in the assembly against NEET. The resolution demanded the Centre to abolish NEET and grant admission to medical colleges on the basis of Class 12 marks.

The proposal also received wide political support. Members of the AIADMK, PMK and Left parties, along with the DMK, supported it. Meanwhile, BJP members walked out of the assembly in protest.

A new turn in Tamil Nadu politics?

By continuously passing resolutions from the assembly on national level issues like delimitation, FCRA and NEET, the Vijay government has given a clear political message of confrontation with the Centre. At the same time, the DMK's stand with the TVK government on the issue of delimitation makes this development more important.

Now the big question is whether these resolutions of the Tamil Nadu assembly will create a broad political front for delimitation in the southern states. The political slugfest between the Centre and Tamil Nadu over the issue is likely to intensify in the coming days.