Hoisting a black flag to protest against the Delimitation Bill being tabled in Parliament, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday burnt a copy of the draft, describing it as a legislative move aimed at turning Tamil people into refugees in their own country.
“I am lighting yet another fire by burning a copy of the Bill, which will turn Tamils into refugees in their own country. This fire will spread all over the Dravidian land and tame the arrogance of the BJP,” Stalin said in a social media post.
The DMK and its INDIA bloc allies are observing a ‘Black Day’ to register their strong opposition to the Delimitation Bill by raising black flags at homes and in public places. While the Chief Minister hoisted a black flag in Namakkal, where he is on an election campaign, black flags were also seen at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam in Chennai, as well as in districts and at the residences of leaders and functionaries of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance across the state.
“#Delimitation: Let the fire spread all over Tamil Nadu! Let the hubris of the BJP be defeated,” Stalin wrote in a social media post, adding, “The flames of anti-Hindi imposition had once reached Delhi and subsided only after its capitulation.”
“Tamil is our mother for this birth, and it is the sweet yet powerful flame in our hearts,” he said, quoting poet Bharathidasan.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Stalin had described delimitation in its present form as a historic injustice to Tamils and the southern states, and a punishment for contributing to the nation’s growth by stabilising population expansion.