Tamil Nadu Chief Minister led JAC urges 25-year freeze on delimitation, southern CMs unite in opposition

New Delhi, Mar 22: In the first Joint Action Committee meeting of states hosted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has passed a resolution asking the central government to extend the freeze on changing parliamentary constituencies for another 25 years.

The panel, called the Joint Action Committee (JAC), wants the process to be fair and transparent, with input from all states and political parties. Leaders from several southern states and Punjab gathered in Chennai for the meeting. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were present.

Other key leaders included former Telangana IT Minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao, along with representatives from political parties such as the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The JAC expressed concerns that states which have successfully controlled their population growth might be unfairly penalised if their parliamentary representation is reduced due to population shifts. In the past, a law was passed to freeze the number of parliamentary seats based on the 1971 Census, ensuring that states making efforts to control population growth were not disadvantaged. Since India has not yet fully stabilised its population, the JAC argues that the freeze should continue for another 25 years.

To take this forward, a group of Members of Parliament from the participating states will work together in Parliament. They will submit their demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and push for state assemblies to pass similar resolutions, officially communicating their concerns to the Union Government. Additionally, the JAC plans to launch a public awareness campaign to educate people about the history of delimitation and its potential impact on representation and resources for different states.

Through this resolution, the JAC has reinforced its stance that any changes to parliamentary constituencies must be carried out in a fair and transparent manner, with input from all states and political stakeholders.

Press Trust of India said that Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday made it clear that the fight is likely to be taken forward through the legal route also. In the meeting, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the delimitation of LS seats was hanging like the “sword of Damocles,” and alleged the BJP government was going ahead on the issue without any consultation. He said “This sudden move is not driven by Constitutional principles or democratic imperatives,” but by narrow political interests. Delimitation, if done after Census will lead to an increase in seats for northern states, a reduction for southern states. Such a cut in seats for the south and an increase for the north will suit the BJP as it holds greater influence in the north.