Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Saturday hosted the first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting for states to be affected by the Centre’s delimitation exercise. It followed an all-party meeting on the same issue in Chennai on March 5. The meeting was attended by CMs of Kerala, Telangana and Punjab as well as Karnataka deputy CM.
Name cards of the political dignitaries were displayed in both English and their respective regional languages. While Stalin addressed the gathering in Tamil, Kanimozhi and Udhayanidhi spoke in English, and Kerala and Telangana CMs also spoke in English. “Delimitation will affect states that have successfully implemented family planning. We are not against delimitation; we are demanding a fair delimitation,” Stalin said.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the delimitation exercise was “hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.”
He added that the exercise would disproportionately benefit northern states, where the BJP has greater influence. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar too said that the proposed delimitation would be a political assault on southern states. He added that when Karnataka and Tamil Nadu stood together, no power could break the states.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann claimed that the BJP’s aim is to reduce parliamentary seats of states where the party is losing and to increase it in states where it is winning.
Attending the meeting virtually, former Odisha CM and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik said states like Odisha should not be penalised and that population “should not be the only criterion for determining seats in the highest representative body of our country.”
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu BJP held a black-flag protests across the state against the meeting. State BJP chief Annamalai accused Stalin of staging ‘political drama’ instead of discussing Tamil Nadu’s rights with other states.
