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'Freeze Parliamentary constituencies for 25 more years': What first JAC meet on Fair Delimitation has asked from Centre

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Saturday convened the inaugural meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in Chennai, aimed at opposing the central government's proposed

delimitation exercise

. This initiative has garnered significant attention from various southern states, which fear that the exercise could undermine their political representation and rights.
Stalin described the meeting as a "historic day" for India's federal structure, emphasising that it marked the beginning of a movement to safeguard the interests of states that have effectively implemented

population control measures

.
"Today will be etched in history as the day when states that have contributed to our nation's development came together to safeguard its federal structure by ensuring fair delimitation," said CM Stalin.

The JAC unanimously resolved that

Any delimitation exercise carried out by the Union Government to improve the content and character of democracy should be carried out transparently, enabling political parties of all the States, State Governments and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss and contribute in it.
Given the fact that the legislative intent behind the 42nd, 84th and 87th Constitutional amendments was to protect / incentivise States which have implemented population control measures effectively and the goal of national population on stabilisation has not yet been achieved, the freeze Parliamentary constituencies based on 1971 Census Population, should be extended by another 25 years.
The States which have effectively implemented the population control program and consequently whose population share has come down, should not be penalised. The Union Government must enact necessary constitutional amendments for this purpose.
The Core Committee consisting of Members of Parliament from the represented States will coordinate the parliamentary strategies to counter any attempts by the Union Government to undertake any delimitation exercise contrary to the principles mentioned above.
The Core Committee of MPs shall submit a Joint Representation on the above lines to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India during the ongoing Parliamentary session.
The Political Parties from different states represented in the meeting will initiate efforts to bring about appropriate Legislative Assembly resolutions in their respective States on the issue and communicate the same to Union Government.
The JAC will also undertake necessary efforts to disseminate information on the history and context of past delimitation exercises and the consequences of the proposed delimitation among the citizens of their respective States, through a coordinated public opinion mobilization strategy.

Stalin's remarks underscored concerns that if the delimitation proceeds based on future census data, states like Tamil Nadu could lose parliamentary representation, which he argued would compromise their rights and erode democracy itself.
"This is more than a meeting. It is the beginning of a movement that will shape the future of our country," he said at the start of the meeting.
The meeting was attended by leaders from several southern states, including Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab. However, it faced opposition from Tamil Nadu's BJP faction, which staged protests against the JAC's proceedings.
Stalin futher said that the next meeting of the JAC would take place in Hyderabad, urging all opposition parties to unite against what he termed an unfair delimitation process.

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