Saturday, 26 April 2025
Saturday, 26 April 2025
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin Saturday led a united front of southern states against the Centre’s proposed delimitation of Parliamentary seats, calling it an attack on their political power.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, DMK MP Kanimozhi and leaders from different parties attended the first meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in Chennai.
The Tamil Nadu CM made it clear that the fight will head to the courts.
"We are not against delimitation, we are for fair delimitation," Stalin said, warning that reducing representation for states that curbed population growth would rob them of their voice in Parliament.
"Delimitation of constituencies should not happen as per current population. We all should be firm in opposing it... With the decrease in the people's representatives in Parliament, our strength to express our views will decrease."
Stalin spoke of the consequences: fewer funds, diminished influence, and weakened bargaining power. "Laws will be made even without our willingness. Decisions will be taken which will affect our people. Students will lose important opportunities. Farmers will face setbacks without support. Our culture and growth will face danger. Social justice will be affected. If delimitation of constituencies happens or representation is decreased, we will be citizens who will be losing political power in our own country," he warned.
Vijayan called the proposed delimitation a political weapon wielded by the BJP. "This sudden move is not driven by Constitutional principles or democratic imperatives, but by narrow political interests," he said.
Vijayan slammed the Centre for penalising states that implemented the National Population Policy of 1976 in good faith.
"When a state faithfully implements a nationally regularised policy, it deserves special consideration for that very reason. Not only is this consideration being denied but we are even being penalised for fulfilling our duty to the nation. This is the crux of the current issues," he said.
He warned that if the southern states’ representation in Parliament was slashed while their share of national wealth continued to decline, they would be left powerless. "We will face an unprecedented situation in which both our rightful share of funds and outer political voice to demand them diminishes simultaneously."
Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy called the Centre’s move a direct assault on states that had performed well. "We are one country, we respect it. But we cannot accept this proposed delimitation because it will politically limit us. It will punish us for being performing states. We have to stop BJP from implementing any unfair delimitation," he said.
Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said, "Centre now plans to reduce our Parliamentary representation."
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, "They (BJP) are reducing seats where they don't win. Is South India getting punished for population control?"
On the next meeting on delimitation to be held in Hyderabad, Mann said, "Wherever we are called, we will go."
BRS working president KT Rama Rao said, "We said two things, first, if delimitation is for more representation, why don't you increase the number of MLAs seats in each and every state is what we propose. Secondly, if the number of parliament seats has to be increased, they have to be increased in sync with the same proportion as what the number is today."
Supporting Stalin’s call for a unified stand on the delimitation issue, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren said, “Carrying out the delimitation exercise only on the basis of population will neither be impartial nor legal.”
The meeting marked the beginning of a contest to protect the political clout of southern states.
