‘Karatika on the bill’: PM Modi slams DMK over black-clad protests

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lashed out at the Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam while delivering the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying he was “grateful to them for adding ‘Karatika’ to the bill to ward off the evil eye.” The Prime Minister’s remarks came after DMK Leaders raised slogans against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and burned the proposed delimitation bill.During a special session of Parliament, Prime Minister Modi It was also stated that no state would face injustice due to the fear that northern states might gain seats at the expense of southern states.“I guarantee that no injustice will be done to any state from east to west, from north to south,” he said in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Delimitation Bill 2026 and the Women Quota Bill.As the Women’s Reservation Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi said “we will give India a new direction”. He further dismissed opposition criticism, saying there was “no need to give it a political color”.Udayanidhi StalinThe candidate from Chennai’s Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency along with other DMK candidates wore black on Thursday to campaign for the April 23 assembly elections to protest against the Centre’s alleged move to reduce the state’s representation through delimitation.Udayanidhi also burned copies of the proposed delimitation bill as part of the party’s state-wide agitation.He accused the BJP-led Center of “trying to reduce” Tamil Nadu’s representation in Parliament and claimed the issue was being used to divert public attention from the poll-hit state. Udayanidhi further claimed that population-based delimitation would lead to loss of Lok Sabha seats in the state and urged people to oppose the move.“Today is a very important day. I am wearing a black shirt to oppose the Delimitation Bill. The Union government is trying to reduce the representation of Tamil Nadu. The Union government is trying to use the elections in the state to divert our attention and enact the Delimitation Bill,” Udayanidhi Stalin said, referring to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill cited by the Press Trust of India.“We should oppose it. Currently, we have 39 Lok Sabha seats. If the boundaries are properly delimited, we will get 59 seats, but the central plan allots only 47 seats, thus reducing the number of 12 constituencies. “The Delimitation Bill 2026, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill 2026 were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after the opposition demanded partition of the bills instead of a voice vote.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla initiated the split after the opposition insisted on a recorded vote on the constitutional amendment bill.In the final count, 251 voted in favor and 185 against, clearing the way for the introduction of all three bills, including the Delimitation Bill 2026.