Chennai

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said that the "victory" to defeat the delimitation bill was possible only because of the MPs of all opposition parties, including those in the INDIA bloc.

He also thanked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for their firm stand on the issue.

In a major setback to the union government, a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 was defeated on Friday.

"This delimitation bill has not only revealed who our friends are. It has also exposed who the traitors of Tamil Nadu are. The betrayal has already suffered a crushing defeat even before the next election," he said in an apparent reference to BJP.

In a video clip which was released here, Stalin said, "I stand before you today in full of joy and renewed energy. Our struggle against the delimitation bill, the black law, has been successful. More than a year ago, we foresaw this danger, and from that very moment we began all the work necessary to achieve this victory".

He said under the "mask of constituency delimitation", a bill that was completely designed to benefit the BJP was defeated in Parliament. Thanks to the MPs of all opposition parties, including those in the INDIA bloc.

"The BJP tried to introduce this law under the disguise of women’s reservation. But it was the women themselves who led the resistance and was successfully defeated. I salute them," he added.

He further said, "Those who wanted to divide us between North and South, and pit us against each other, have now received a powerful and firm slap on the face."

"For the first time in 12 years, Prime Minister Modi’s government has suffered the defeat of a constitutional amendment bill," he added.

The DMK chief said, "This is only the beginning. This is the beginning of the defeats that the BJP will face across the country. This is the beginning of the unity of opposition parties. I have been saying again and again that if we stand united, our victory is certain".

"I had warned that we might have to see the old DMK of the 1950s and 60s again. I have clearly shown them today. Look, this is what the DMK is," he claimed.

However, Stalin said, "What we have achieved today is only half a victory. Just as it was done in 2001, the delimitation of seat numbers must be suspended constitutionally for the next 25 years, that is until 2051".

"Let our victories continue and multiply and to the BJP, which tried to turn the people of Tamil Nadu into refugees in their own country, and to their slave agents, the AIADMK, we will give such a huge and unforgettable defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections that they will never be able to forget it," he said.

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Stalin also expressed his gratitude to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who stated in Parliament that there is absolutely no connection between the women’s reservation bill and the delimitation bill.

"This is an anti‑national law. We will not allow it. We will defeat it together," Rahul had said.