DMK charts solo line in Parliament, skips Opposition walkout on anti-paper leak bill
The DMK's decision to break ranks with the Opposition on key parliamentary strategies has put the spotlight on its evolving role as an independent force in Parliament.
The DMK’s conduct in Parliament during the Monsoon Session has highlighted its growing distance from the Congress-led Opposition on a series of contentious issues.
The latest instance came in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, when the party did not join the Congress and other Opposition parties in walking out during voting on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The move followed protests by Opposition parties over the government’s handling of the NEET paper leak and the July 20 police crackdown on student protesters.
A day earlier, the DMK had also taken a separate line in the Lok Sabha by becoming the only Opposition party to participate in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill.
In the Lok Sabha debate on the anti-paper leak bill on Wednesday, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran criticised the government’s handling of examination reforms.
However, he stopped short of directly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against protesters marching to Parliament, a line strongly taken by the Congress and several other Opposition parties.
On Thursday, the DMK again took an independent stand by participating in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill. While the party’s decision to join the debate differed from the wider Opposition’s parliamentary strategy, it did not signal support for the bill.
DMK MPs A Raja and Kanimozhi strongly opposed the legislation, saying it went against the country’s secular ethos and reflected a Hindutva agenda.
These interventions have followed the DMK’s decision to exit the INDIA bloc after the Congress-TVK alliance and the formation of government in Tamil Nadu.
Ahead of the Monsoon Session, the Stalin-led party had also sought and been given separate seating arrangements in Parliament, underlining its decision to keep an organisational distance from the INDIA bloc.
Each of these developments, taken separately, could be seen as issue-based parliamentary strategy. Together, they suggest that the DMK is maintaining a visible political distance from the Congress while also avoiding direct confrontation with the government on some of the most politically sensitive issues.
The DMK, however, sought to play down the significance of its stand.
Asked on Thursday about the party not joining the Opposition walkout during voting on the anti-paper leak bill, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva told reporters, “We did not walk out. The DMK, DMDK, and some other parties were also present in the House. We tried to move some amendments, but the reply was addressed only to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha."
"We are completely unconvinced and dissatisfied with the response, and, of course, with the bill itself. The firm stance of the DMK, along with our alliance partners and many others, comes down to a single point, that is to abolish NEET,” he added.
The timing of the DMK’s moves is significant because the numbers in Parliament have changed in recent months. After the disintegration of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, the DMK, with 22 Lok Sabha members, has become the third-largest Opposition party in the House. In the Rajya Sabha, its eight members make it the second-largest Opposition party.
Its strength could matter if the government makes another attempt to pass the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, linked to the implementation of women’s reservation.
The Constitution Amendment Bill and the accompanying Delimitation Bill, which proposes redrawing parliamentary and Assembly constituencies as a condition for implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, were introduced in the previous session. The Constitution Amendment Bill fell short of the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 members voting in favour and 230 against.
The government’s numbers have improved slightly since then. The NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha now stands at 299 after seven Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs merged with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, but that is still well short of the 360 votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment on the basis of the current effective strength of the House.
Twenty Trinamool Congress MPs have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, though their formal merger is still pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. If it is approved, the NDA’s strength would rise to 319, still 41 short of the two-thirds mark.
Against this backdrop, the DMK’s distinct parliamentary line has drawn attention both for what it says about the Opposition and for the role its numbers could play in future voting.
The DMK’s conduct in Parliament during the Monsoon Session has highlighted its growing distance from the Congress-led Opposition on a series of contentious issues.
The latest instance came in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, when the party did not join the Congress and other Opposition parties in walking out during voting on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The move followed protests by Opposition parties over the government’s handling of the NEET paper leak and the July 20 police crackdown on student protesters.
A day earlier, the DMK had also taken a separate line in the Lok Sabha by becoming the only Opposition party to participate in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill.
In the Lok Sabha debate on the anti-paper leak bill on Wednesday, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran criticised the government’s handling of examination reforms.
However, he stopped short of directly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against protesters marching to Parliament, a line strongly taken by the Congress and several other Opposition parties.
On Thursday, the DMK again took an independent stand by participating in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill. While the party’s decision to join the debate differed from the wider Opposition’s parliamentary strategy, it did not signal support for the bill.
DMK MPs A Raja and Kanimozhi strongly opposed the legislation, saying it went against the country’s secular ethos and reflected a Hindutva agenda.
These interventions have followed the DMK’s decision to exit the INDIA bloc after the Congress-TVK alliance and the formation of government in Tamil Nadu.
Ahead of the Monsoon Session, the Stalin-led party had also sought and been given separate seating arrangements in Parliament, underlining its decision to keep an organisational distance from the INDIA bloc.
Each of these developments, taken separately, could be seen as issue-based parliamentary strategy. Together, they suggest that the DMK is maintaining a visible political distance from the Congress while also avoiding direct confrontation with the government on some of the most politically sensitive issues.
The DMK, however, sought to play down the significance of its stand.
Asked on Thursday about the party not joining the Opposition walkout during voting on the anti-paper leak bill, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva told reporters, “We did not walk out. The DMK, DMDK, and some other parties were also present in the House. We tried to move some amendments, but the reply was addressed only to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha."
"We are completely unconvinced and dissatisfied with the response, and, of course, with the bill itself. The firm stance of the DMK, along with our alliance partners and many others, comes down to a single point, that is to abolish NEET,” he added.
The timing of the DMK’s moves is significant because the numbers in Parliament have changed in recent months. After the disintegration of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, the DMK, with 22 Lok Sabha members, has become the third-largest Opposition party in the House. In the Rajya Sabha, its eight members make it the second-largest Opposition party.
Its strength could matter if the government makes another attempt to pass the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, linked to the implementation of women’s reservation.
The Constitution Amendment Bill and the accompanying Delimitation Bill, which proposes redrawing parliamentary and Assembly constituencies as a condition for implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, were introduced in the previous session. The Constitution Amendment Bill fell short of the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 members voting in favour and 230 against.
The government’s numbers have improved slightly since then. The NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha now stands at 299 after seven Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs merged with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, but that is still well short of the 360 votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment on the basis of the current effective strength of the House.
Twenty Trinamool Congress MPs have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, though their formal merger is still pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. If it is approved, the NDA’s strength would rise to 319, still 41 short of the two-thirds mark.
Against this backdrop, the DMK’s distinct parliamentary line has drawn attention both for what it says about the Opposition and for the role its numbers could play in future voting.
The DMK’s conduct in Parliament during the Monsoon Session has highlighted its growing distance from the Congress-led Opposition on a series of contentious issues.
The latest instance came in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, when the party did not join the Congress and other Opposition parties in walking out during voting on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The move followed protests by Opposition parties over the government’s handling of the NEET paper leak and the July 20 police crackdown on student protesters.
A day earlier, the DMK had also taken a separate line in the Lok Sabha by becoming the only Opposition party to participate in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill.
In the Lok Sabha debate on the anti-paper leak bill on Wednesday, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran criticised the government’s handling of examination reforms.
However, he stopped short of directly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against protesters marching to Parliament, a line strongly taken by the Congress and several other Opposition parties.
On Thursday, the DMK again took an independent stand by participating in the discussion on The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill. While the party’s decision to join the debate differed from the wider Opposition’s parliamentary strategy, it did not signal support for the bill.
DMK MPs A Raja and Kanimozhi strongly opposed the legislation, saying it went against the country’s secular ethos and reflected a Hindutva agenda.
These interventions have followed the DMK’s decision to exit the INDIA bloc after the Congress-TVK alliance and the formation of government in Tamil Nadu.
Ahead of the Monsoon Session, the Stalin-led party had also sought and been given separate seating arrangements in Parliament, underlining its decision to keep an organisational distance from the INDIA bloc.
Each of these developments, taken separately, could be seen as issue-based parliamentary strategy. Together, they suggest that the DMK is maintaining a visible political distance from the Congress while also avoiding direct confrontation with the government on some of the most politically sensitive issues.
The DMK, however, sought to play down the significance of its stand.
Asked on Thursday about the party not joining the Opposition walkout during voting on the anti-paper leak bill, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva told reporters, “We did not walk out. The DMK, DMDK, and some other parties were also present in the House. We tried to move some amendments, but the reply was addressed only to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha."
"We are completely unconvinced and dissatisfied with the response, and, of course, with the bill itself. The firm stance of the DMK, along with our alliance partners and many others, comes down to a single point, that is to abolish NEET,” he added.
The timing of the DMK’s moves is significant because the numbers in Parliament have changed in recent months. After the disintegration of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, the DMK, with 22 Lok Sabha members, has become the third-largest Opposition party in the House. In the Rajya Sabha, its eight members make it the second-largest Opposition party.
Its strength could matter if the government makes another attempt to pass the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026, linked to the implementation of women’s reservation.
The Constitution Amendment Bill and the accompanying Delimitation Bill, which proposes redrawing parliamentary and Assembly constituencies as a condition for implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, were introduced in the previous session. The Constitution Amendment Bill fell short of the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 members voting in favour and 230 against.
The government’s numbers have improved slightly since then. The NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha now stands at 299 after seven Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs merged with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, but that is still well short of the 360 votes needed to pass a constitutional amendment on the basis of the current effective strength of the House.
Twenty Trinamool Congress MPs have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, though their formal merger is still pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. If it is approved, the NDA’s strength would rise to 319, still 41 short of the two-thirds mark.
Against this backdrop, the DMK’s distinct parliamentary line has drawn attention both for what it says about the Opposition and for the role its numbers could play in future voting.
