TN CM Stalin hosts Opposition meet on delimitation today  

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin convened the first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Chennai, to oppose the proposed delimitation exercise based on future population figures. The meeting, held at ITC Chola, brought together leaders from several states, including the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab — Pinarayi Vijayan, Revanth Reddy, and Bhagwant Mann — along with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Stalin, calling the meeting a “defining moment,” stressed that the delimitation exercise would unfairly penalize states that have successfully implemented family planning measures. He warned that a loss in representation for these states would undermine India’s federal structure. Stalin proposed renaming the forum as the ‘Fair Delimitation Joint Action Group’ to reflect its core demand — ensuring fairness in seat allocation.

The conference saw multilingual coordination, with name boards in English and regional languages, and translations arranged for Telugu, Punjabi, and Odia. DMK MP Kanimozhi read out a resolution demanding a freeze on delimitation for 25 years and advocating that the 1971 Census population remain the basis until 2051.

Udhayanidhi Stalin highlighted the injustice of punishing southern states for controlling population growth, presenting data to show the potential loss of seats. The YSR Congress Party also supported the cause, writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasizing that no state should lose representation in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP staged black-flag protests, with state president K. Annamalai criticizing Stalin for political theatrics instead of addressing inter-state issues like Mekedatu and Cauvery disputes.

The JAC meeting followed an earlier all-party resolution reaffirming Tamil Nadu’s opposition to delimitation based solely on future population figures, calling for fairness to safeguard India’s federal principles.