Chennai, March 22 (IANS) The Joint Action Council (JAC) meeting held here on Saturday has passed a resolution commending Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for taking the lead in initiating a fair and transparent delimitation process aimed at safeguarding the political and economic interests of well-performing states.
The resolution, adopted at the meeting expressed serious concern over the lack of transparency and consultation in the upcoming delimitation exercise planned by the Union Government. It stressed that any such process must involve comprehensive dialogue with all stakeholders — including state governments, political parties, and civil society.
The JAC emphasised that delimitation if carried out to truly strengthen the democratic structure, must be done transparently and inclusively. The resolution urged the Union Government to involve all stakeholders in meaningful deliberation and discussion before moving forward.
It also highlighted the need to protect the interests of states that have effectively implemented population control measures. These states, the JAC noted, should not be penalised with reduced representation in Parliament as a result of their success in managing population growth. To support this objective, the resolution called on the Union Government to bring in appropriate constitutional amendments.
The JAC’s Core Committee, consisting of Members of Parliament from the represented states, will spearhead parliamentary strategies to oppose any delimitation effort that fails to adhere to these democratic principles. The resolution added that this Core Committee will submit a joint representation to the Prime Minister of India during the current Parliament session.
In addition to political coordination, the JAC also plans to engage in widespread public outreach. It will initiate efforts to educate citizens about the historical context and implications of previous delimitation exercises, and the potential consequences of the proposed changes. This will be done through a coordinated strategy aimed at mobilising public opinion across states.
It may be noted that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin convened a meeting with leaders of various political parties and states to discuss the implications of parliamentary constituency delimitation. The meeting saw participation from the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab, along with the Deputy Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Prior to this meeting, CM Stalin had written to several Chief Ministers, former Chief Ministers, and senior political leaders, urging them to nominate representatives to join the Joint Action Council (JAC). In response to his appeal, Saturday’s meeting brought together a diverse range of political representatives from across the country.
CM Stalin inaugurated the meeting with a welcome address, followed by a presentation by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, outlining the likely impacts of the delimitation process. Member of Parliament Kanimozhi then formally proposed the resolutions, which were adopted during the meeting. Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also joined the session via video conference and shared his views.
Several national leaders spoke at the session, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, and BJD leaders Das Burma and Amar Patnaik. From Kerala, the session included participation by Indian National Congress state president K. Sudhakaran, Kerala Congress (Mani) leader Jose K. Mani, and CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam.
Other notable attendees were Balwinder Singh (Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjab), Salahuddin (IUML, Kerala), N.K. Premachandran (RSP, Kerala), Imtiyaz Jalil (AIMIM, Telangana), Mahesh Goud (INC, Telangana), and Francis George (Kerala Congress). The speakers unanimously stressed that any delimitation should not disadvantage states that have been successful in implementing social and economic development programmes. They called on the Centre to ensure a consultative and consensus-driven approach to such a critical democratic process.
–IANS
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