Siddaramaiah to skip TN's delimitation meet; deputy DKS awaits Congress nod

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who earlier backed his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin’s call for southern states to discuss state autonomy and Lok Sabha delimitation, has now taken a U-turn on the matter. Siddaramaiah, however, has entrusted his deputy DK Shivakumar with attending the meeting.

In a letter to Stalin, Siddaramaiah cited prior commitments as the reason for his inability to attend the March 22 meeting.

“The issue of parliamentary and legislative Assembly constituency reorganisation based on new population criteria requires extensive discussion among like-minded states,” he said.

Also read: Delimitation row: Stalin seeks states' unity, writes to CMs to join JAC

DKS awaits party nod

Interestingly, DK Shivakumar has not taken a call yet.

A source close to Shivakumar's team told The Federal that he has not yet made a decision in this regard and will take a stand only after receiving a green signal from the party high command. Though the chief minister has requested him to attend, he will make his decision after consulting with the party leadership̤̤. "It will be a tough decision to make, as he is not just the deputy chief minister but also the party's face in Karnataka," sources added.

Siddaramaiah backs Stalin

At the same time, Siddaramaiah acknowledged that "the southern states are uniting against the constituency reorganisation that the central government is set to implement".

On Stalin’s letter, which highlighted concerns regarding state autonomy and its potential impact on India's federal structure, Siddaramaiah reiterated his commitment to protect Karnataka’s interests.

“Due to my prior commitments, I am unable to attend the meeting despite my willingness to do so. However, considering the importance of the discussions, I have requested deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to participate on behalf of Karnataka,” he added.

DMK delegates meet Siddaramaiah

On Wednesday (March 12), when a delegation from Tamil Nadu met him, Siddaramaiah expressed his support for the southern states’ meeting.

Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ponmudi and Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Abdullah Ismail met him and discussed the Union government’s alleged anti-democratic and anti-southern stance.

Also read: Stalin’s delimitation meet must discuss selective use of Article 82, rights of smaller states

Siddaramaiah had said: “We strongly condemn all actions of the Union government that are against Karnataka’s interests, weaken democracy, and violate the federal structure of the Constitution. We will support the struggle against such policies without hesitation.”

Congress’ dilemma

Sources in the Karnataka government indicated that Siddaramaiah had initially wanted to attend the Tamil Nadu meeting. But he faced a dilemma due to the Congress' national party status and its hesitation over participating in a programme organised by the DMK.

Additionally, attending the meeting could create problems for the Congress in north India, where delimitation is expected to result in more Lok Sabha seats, benefiting any party that gains from the process.

Also read: As delimitation debate gains momentum in Karnataka, Congress faces a dilemma

“Since the Congress leadership has not yet decided whether to participate in the meeting, Siddaramaiah took a step back and wrote to the Tamil Nadu chief minister about his unavailability,” a Karnataka minister who did not want to be named said.