New Delhi: At the inaugural meeting of state leaders, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin proposed that the Joint Action Committee (JAC) for “fair delimitation” pursue legal action against the Union government’s plan, as all leaders demanded a 25-year freeze on changes to parliamentary constituencies.
The first meeting of the JAC on delimitation began on Saturday (March 22) morning in Chennai, chaired by Stalin in his capacity as Tamil Nadu chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president.
The JAC passed a resolution demanding transparency in any delimitation exercise and called for extending the existing freeze on parliamentary constituencies by 25 years.
“Any delimitation exercise carried out by the Union government to improve the content and character of democracy should be conducted transparently, enabling political parties from all states, state governments and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss and contribute,” the resolution stated.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar were among the leaders who arrived in Chennai for the meeting.
Among opposition parties from various states, Biju Janata Dal leader Naveen Patnaik addressed the meeting and sent a delegation.
Also in attendance were Shiromani Akali Dal working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Indian Union Muslim League (Kerala) general secretary P.M.A. Salam and a Bharat Rashtra Samithi delegation led by its working president K.T. Rama Rao.
The ruling party in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress, declined to attend despite being invited.
The only southern state absent was Andhra Pradesh, whose chief minister Chandrababu Naidu is allied with the BJP.
Reacting to the meeting, BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan dismissed it as a “delimitation drama”, accusing the DMK of using it as a diversionary tactic to distract from its “corrupt, failed, disastrous misrule”.
Stalin, second right; Vijayan, centre; Reddy, Shivakumar, second left; Rama Rao, left and others during the first Joint Action Committee meeting in Chennai on March 22. Photo: PTI.
Addressing the gathering, Stalin called for the formation of an expert panel to draft a political and legal action plan.
He proposed naming it the ‘Joint Action Committee for Fair Delimitation’ and sought suggestions on initiating legal proceedings while advancing the political fight.
“We are not against delimitation; we are for fair delimitation,” he said, emphasising that “continuous action is essential to establish our rights”.
Stalin highlighted the need to create awareness among people and to fight unitedly.
“Our representation must not decline,” he said.
Stalin gave the example of Manipur’s low representation to argue that numerical strength in parliament was important.
“We are seeing how Manipur is burning for the past two years. Their voice is not being heard because they are numerically low in parliament,” he noted.
Vijayan said the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha seats hung over southern states like a “sword of Damocles”, questioning Union home minister Amit Shah’s rationale for delimitation on “pro-rata basis”.
Calling it a “sudden move” driven not by constitutional principles or democratic imperatives but by narrow political interests, Vijayan argued that delimitation based on the census would increase seats for northern states while reducing representation for the south.
“Such a cut in seats for the south and an increase for the north will suit the BJP, as it holds greater influence there,” he noted.
Reddy highlighted the south’s achievements, citing its rapid economic growth, superior infrastructure, higher per capita income and effective governance.
He pointed out that despite contributing more to the national exchequer, southern states received fewer resources.
Accusing the BJP of imposing a demographic penalty on the south, Reddy urged a return to Vajpayee’s policy of freezing delimitation for 25 years. If the Union government insisted on going ahead, he demanded that the south’s Lok Sabha representation be increased from the current 24% to 33%.
“I will bring a resolution on this in the Telangana legislature,” he added.
Stalin addresses the first JAC meeting in Chennai on March 22. Photo: PTI.
He also suggested that instead of increasing Lok Sabha seats, delimitation could be carried out within state boundaries.
Ahead of the meeting, Shivakumar praised Stalin for defending the federal structure.
“At any cost, we cannot let down our country or allow our seats to be reduced … We are a progressive state, strong economically and in literacy … We will stand united to ensure none of our seats are lost. I welcome all the BJP black flags. I am not afraid, even if they send me to Tihar jail,” he told ANI.
Former Odisha chief minister Patnaik, addressing the meeting virtually, called it “an important step to ensure democratic representation and the rights of people in states that have successfully stabilised their populations”.
“States took their own initiatives and played a key role in implementing the national agenda. Had these states not achieved what they did in stabilising population growth, India would have faced a population explosion, derailing our developmental progress,” he said.
Patnaik argued that since southern states along with Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal had actively pursued population control, it would be unfair to conduct delimitation solely based on population.
Mann echoed this concern, accusing the BJP of manipulating the process to expand its seat share in states where it was strong while reducing representation in states where it was weak.
He claimed that Punjab’s seats would be cut because the BJP was not winning in the state, while Hindi-speaking states would gain.
Bhunder added that delimitation was a critical issue for religious and linguistic minorities.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu BJP staged a black flag protest, criticising Stalin for not convening similar meetings on the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar water-sharing disputes with Karnataka and Kerala.
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan dismissed the meeting as a “corruption-hiding exercise” by regional leaders.
