Dressed in black for a second consecutive day, DMK MP Kanimozhi responded sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s ‘kala tika‘ dig and pointed to a representation of Kali – who signifies the all-powerful divine feminine – in the same colour.
Speaking in parliament Friday morning, she said: “I am surprised that people here, who (claim they) are there to protect Hindutva, were reminded of Kali, the goddess, the dark goddess who wears black. The feminine power. The woman who drives away ego, arrogance, ignorance.”
The snapback came on the second day of a special session to pass three bills – on delimitation, increasing Lok Sabha seats, and reserving a third of parliamentary, assembly seats for women.
All three, including an amendment to change the Constitution to allow for the increased (850) Lok Sabha seats, were tabled. The opposition, however, protested against all three.
On Thursday, day 1 of the session, the PM took a swipe at DMK parliamentarians who wore black. Senior leader Dayanidhi Maran said this was to protest against a delimitation exercise that southern states fear will rob them of a voice in parliament.
Southern states have argued redrawing of parliamentary and assembly constituency boundaries based on 2011 census data, rather than waiting for the 2026/27 exercise results, will penalise them for effective population control. Northern, Hindi-speaking states that have not done as well will, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin warned, get more seats and importance.
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In his speech, during which the PM offered his “guarantee” this will not happen, he also took a jibe at the dressed-in-black DMK MPs, thanking them for putting a ‘kala tika‘, i.e., a superstition in which a black mark is placed to ward off evil powers.
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In response this morning, Kanimozhi said the colour was also a link to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s ideology, specifically Tamil social activist Periyar.
“… the same colour we have chosen to protest (with) is the colour of Periyar… our intellectual leader. He taught us self-respect… to never bow. He taught us fight till the end and we will…”
Kanimozhi told the House the DMK opposed the delimitation bill tabled yesterday.
“A fresh bill should be introduced and placed in the public domain for at least three months for wider consultation,” she said, “If the Constitution is to endure as a charter of trust, amendments must be guided by principle, anchored in fairness, restraint, and fidelity…”