New Delhi:
The DMK-led Joint Action Committee (JAC), holding its first meeting today over the impending delimitation exercise proposed by the Union government, cited a lack of transparency and insufficient consultation with key stakeholders. In a unanimous 7-point resolution passed during its meeting in Chennai, the JAC called for an inclusive and transparent approach to the process.
The JAC stressed that any delimitation exercise must include a consultative process involving all state governments, political parties, and relevant stakeholders.
Here is the 7-point resolution released by the JAC:
- 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 stabilisation has not yet been achieved, the freeze on 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 mobilisation strategy.
Key Leaders in Attendance
The meeting in Chennai saw the participation of several prominent political leaders, including Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das, and Biju Janata Dal leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, among others.
Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik attended the meeting virtually while the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) did not show up for the meeting at all.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who convened the meeting, announced that the next JAC meeting on delimitation will be held in Hyderabad.
