Chennai: In a first major united show against the population-based delimitation exercise, the southern states, along with Punjab and Odisha, sent out a clear message from Chennai to the Union Government on Saturday—freeze delimitation for the next 25 years.

The first meeting of the Joint Action Committee on Fair Delimitation, convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at a star hotel, saw the attendance of Chief Ministers Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab); Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar; Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik (via videoconferencing); and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K.T. Rama Rao, among others.

The meeting resolved that the current number of parliamentary constituencies in the country must be frozen based on the 1971 Census for a quarter of a century more. Originally, the delimitation was frozen till 2001, and later, this was extended by another 25 years until the census to be carried out after 2026. In both instances, a Constitutional amendment was required.

“Given the fact that the legislative intent behind the 42nd, 84th, and 87th Constitutional amendments was to protect/incentivize states that have implemented population control measures effectively, and the goal of national population stabilization has not yet been achieved, the freeze on parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census should be extended by another 25 years,” the resolution stated.

Earlier in the day, setting the tone for the meeting, Stalin said, “We are not against delimitation; the name (of the JAC) itself will show that we are in favor of fair delimitation...We will fight with the determination that our representation should not decrease under any circumstances; we should not let it decrease. We will fight together until we achieve fair delimitation.” The other participants endorsed Stalin’s stand and extended support for the movement for fair delimitation.

Briefing journalists, DMK Parliamentary Party leader Kanimozhi, who moderated the JAC meeting, said any delimitation exercise carried out by the Union government to improve the content and character of our democracy should be done transparently, enabling political parties of all the states, state governments, and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss, and contribute to it.

States that had effectively implemented population control programs and whose population share had consequently come down should not be penalized—this was the underlying theme of the meeting.

“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 resolution added.

According to Kanimozhi, the Core Committee of MPs shall submit a joint representation along these lines to the Prime Minister 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 the Union government,” the resolution stated.

Kanimozhi told journalists that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who could not attend the meeting, was in touch with Stalin. The next JAC meeting will be held in Hyderabad, she added.