Initiative to protect the country: Stalin on eve ofDMK’s delimitation meet
Stalin sent letters to the CMs of seven states, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab
If Tamil Nadu and other states lose representation in Parliament due to the proposed delimitation, it will strike at the very foundation of federalism, erode democracy and lead to compromise of rights, chief minister MK Stalin said on Friday, on the eve of a meeting called by the DMK with leaders from seven states to oppose the impending exercise to redraw electoral constituencies based on population.
Stalin had sent letters to the chief ministers of seven states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab — as well as to the leadership of all major parties representing these states in Parliament and invited them for the joint action committee meeting against the delimitation exercise, which the DMK chief claimed was a sword hanging over south India.
“This first round of discussions will be held in Chennai on March 22. Why are we organising this meeting now? If Tamil Nadu and other states we have reached out were to lose representation due to this delimitation, it will strike at the very foundation of federalism in India. It will erode the essence of democracy itself. Our voices in Parliament will be silenced. Our rights will be compromised,” Stalin said in a nearly 3-minute video he shared on X.
Stating that a DMK delegation comprising a state minister and one MP personally met the leaders and explained his party’s stand on delimitation, Stalin said he personally spoke to all seven CMs over the phone and some confirmed their participation, while others, due to prior commitments, will be sending their representatives.
Targeting the BJP-led Centre, the DMK chief added: “This is nothing short of a deliberate attempt to undermine certain states. States that have controlled their population growth, governed efficiently, and contributed significantly to national progress must not be punished by the Union government.”
This meeting, he said, will chart the course forward. “Based on the meeting’s outcome, we will take the next steps. Our rightful demand will prevail. Our initiative will protect India!”
While Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already arrived in Chennai to attend the meeting, his Punjab and Telangana counterparts Bhagwant Mann and A Revanth Reddy, respectively, and representatives of various parties from Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal are also likely to take part in the meeting.
A delegation of the BRS, led by led by its working president KT Rama Rao, also left for Chennai on Friday to attend the meeting. “The BRS leadership believes this conference will strengthen the unity of southern states and send a strong message of opposition to the central government regarding the proposed delimitation policy,” the party said in a statement.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik has deputed former MP Amar Patnaik and former minister Sanjay Dasburma to attend the meeting. From Punjab’s opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), party’s working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar and vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema are likely to attend the meeting.
Several southern states have raised apprehension that the proposed delimitation exercise, scheduled to be held in 2026 after the completion of much-delayed decadal census, will reduce their representation in the Lok Sabha as compared to their northern counterparts such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
A 2019 analysis in Hindustan Times by Milan Vaishnaw and Jamie Hintson of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, projected that such an exercise could see the overall strength of the Lok Sabha rising to 848, with Uttar Pradesh alone seeing its tally increase from the current 80 to 143 by 2026. In contrast, Tamil Nadu, which currently sends 39 representatives, could see the number rise to just 49. Kerala, which sends 20, would see no change at all.
Commenting on the meeting called by the DMK, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai called it a “delusional drama”.
“Tomorrow, while TN CM Thiru @mkstalin orchestrates his delusional drama on Delimitation, we hope he will play this speech of DMK Minister Thiru TM Anbarasan to his I.N.D.I. Alliance partners. It’s as if the DMK Ministers have made a collective decision to insult and abuse our brothers and sisters of northern India,” Annamalai wrote in a social media post, sharing a video clip of state minister Anbarasan’s purported speech, which had an “insulting” comparison, on increase in population in northern states.
