The Joint Action Committee meeting opposing the upcoming delimitation of parliamentary constituencies is set to be held in Chennai on 22 March.
Published Mar 12, 2025 | 12:39 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 13, 2025 | 2:08 PM
Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister EV Velu and MP P Wilson met with YSRCP leader Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Synopsis: Leaders of the DMK in Tamil Nadu are actively inviting representatives from other parties and heads of non-BJP ruled states to attend the Joint Action Committee meeting opposing delimitation. Tamil Nadu government has been raising concerns against the delimitation based on the 2026 Census, saying that it is a blatant assault on federalism.
Ahead of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting opposing the upcoming delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, which is set to be held in Chennai on 22 March, leaders of the DMK in Tamil Nadu are actively inviting representatives from other parties and heads of non-BJP ruled states.
DMK leaders have leaders from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Wednesday, 12 March, to invite them to the meeting.
In the DMK Parliamentary Members Meeting held on 9 March, Chief Minister MK Stalin had said that the party’s coalition allies decided to work together to mobilise political parties from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, and Punjab.
The Tamil Nadu government and the Union government over issues including the three-language policy in education and the upcoming delimitation.
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister EV Velu and Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson met with YSRCP leader Jagan Mohan Reddy in Vijayawada and invited him to participate in the meeting. They also met TDP Andhra Pradesh President Palla Srinivasa Rao.
Further, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, a delegation led by Minister K Ponmudi and Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdullah met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and is expected to meet Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru to invite them to the meeting.
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Industries Minister Dr TRB Rajaa and MP Dayanidhi Maran met former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das on behalf of Chief Minister Stalin.
They handed over letters inviting them to the 22 March meeting in Chennai. Tamil Nadu government has been raising concerns against the delimitation based on the 2026 Census, saying that it is a blatant assault on federalism.
Stalin said that the process punishes states — especially South Indian states — that have ensured population control and good governance by stripping away their rightful voice in Parliament.
He urged the leaders to “stand together not as separate political entities but as protectors of our people’s future”.
In an invitation letter to other political parties, Stalin said the essence of India’s democracy rests on its federal character, a system that gives each state its rightful voice while honoring the sacred unity as one nation.
An all-party meeting held in Tamil Nadu on 5 March had urged the Union government to uphold the commitment made in 2001 by the then-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which stated that constituency delimitation should be based on the 1971 population figures.
The meeting opposed the parliamentary constituency delimitation based on current population figures and said it threatens India’s federal structure and the political representation rights of Tamil Nadu and other Southern states.
In the meeting, some parties, including the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) proposed a fixed number of representatives in the Parliament, similar to the House of Representatives in the United States.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
