Congress MP Karti Chidambaram Questions DMK's Stance and Calls for Ram Mandir Trust Scrutiny

"You have to ask the DMK for its reasons why they are doing a flip-flop. In my opinion, they are being enticed with this One Nation One Election. They are in a little bit of urgency to have another election. But all I can tell you is if the DMK embarks on that path, their fate in the next elections will be worse than what they faced in this recent Assembly elections," Chidambaram said.

New Delhi: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Monday questioned the DMK's shift in position on key legislative issues, saying the party itself should explain its stand, while also asserting that the Ram Mandir trust should be subject to public scrutiny, including a CAG audit and discussion in Parliament.

Reacting to the DMK's position, Chidambaram told ANI, "You have to ask the DMK for its reasons why they are doing a flip-flop. In my opinion, they are being enticed with this One Nation One Election. They are in a little bit of urgency to have another election. But all I can tell you is if the DMK embarks on that path, their fate in the next elections will be worse than what they faced in this recent Assembly elections."

On the proposed Delimitation Bill, the Congress MP said he expected the DMK to maintain its earlier stand against the proposal.

"I don't know what the take of DMK is; you should ask them. They opposed the Bill the last time, I hope they will oppose the Bill this time too," he said.

Explaining his opposition to the proposal, Chidambaram said that while seat increases may appear proportionate on paper, the absolute numbers would widen the gap between northern and southern states in Parliament.

"On paper, it looks like everybody is getting an equal percentage of increase, in a parliamentary democracy, absolute numbers matter. At the moment, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have 40 seats. Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats. So, the delta between Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Uttar Pradesh is 40. But if you increase the seats by 50%, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will go up to 60, and Uttar Pradesh will go to 120. So, the delta will become 60. So, absolute numbers matter in politics. It is not just percentages because in order to catch up with the north of India, there will be a far greater number for the southern states to do. The southern states have reduced population and have contributed more to tax but their number of Parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha will be diminished," he said.

He further argued that increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha would reduce the effectiveness of parliamentary debates.

"Further, with 543 members in the House, we hardly get any time to speak. With 815, we will get less time to speak. The Speaker doesn't know the names of all of us, and he will hardly know the names of an extra 300 people who will come. So, the House will just become a stamping House like China...A larger Parliament will be an ineffective Parliament," Chidambaram said.

On the alleged Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case, Chidambaram said the trust managing the temple should be accountable to the public.

"Ram Mandir issue is not only an emotive issue, but it is also a trust set up by the government. Even though it's a private trust, it performs like a public body. It must be open to the scrutiny of all public bodies. It involves public money because devotees' contributions are from the public at large. So it must be open to RTI, it must be open to CAG audit, it must also be open to debate in Parliament about it, and there has to be accountability fixed to it," he said.

His remarks came as the Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on Monday, with both Houses witnessing repeated adjournments amid Opposition sloganeering demanding discussions on the alleged Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case and the NEET-UG paper leak issue.