Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

"Delimitation: public sentiments will be considered to the extent possible"

Special Correspondent

All petitions will be studied after final hearing scheduled for May 23: Gopalswami

TIRUCHI: The sentiments expressed by the people on the delimitation of constituencies will be taken into account to the extent possible in the final notification, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami said on Sunday.

The Delimitation Commission received 600 petitions from Tamil Nadu, and all the petitions would be studied after the final public hearing scheduled for May 23, he said in a chat with reporters after chairing a public hearing on the delimitation of the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts.

Mr. Gopalaswami said the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was based on the population of these communities. It was not always possible to ensure that the constituencies were within a single district.

Earlier, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Youth Affairs Manishankar Aiyar put up a forceful plea before the commission for retaining the Mayiladuturai Lok Sabha constituency as it is. The commission's draft proposal to bring Mayiladuturai under Chidambaram was in violation of the criteria for the exercise laid down in the Delimitation Act. By including three critical Assembly segments under Chidambaram, he said, the economic, social and geographical integrity of the Cauvery delta had been broken.

There was no geographic continuity, as Chidambaram was across the Cauvery and the Coleroon.

A large number of people, led by Mr.Aiyar, marched to the public hearing venue, holding placards against the proposal. A posse of police was deployed as several people from the constituency gathered in front of the venue.

Deputy Election Commissioner Mrityunjay Sarangi, State Election Commissioner D. Chandrasekaran, Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta and Associate Members of the Delimitation Commission attended the hearing.

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