Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on March 7, wrote to the chief ministers of the other southern states and of Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal urging them to come together in opposition to the Union government’s proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. Calling the proposal “a blatant assault on federalism”, Stalin said that the Tamil Nadu government would not allow such a “democratic injustice”. He also announced that a Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting would be convened on March 22 in Chennai.
The letters come a day after an all-party meeting called by the Tamil Nadu government on March 6. The meeting had been attended by all major parties in the state, including the AIADMK and the PMK who have unanimously agreed to oppose delimitation. However, the BJP and NTK had both boycotted the event.
In his March 7 letters Stalin called for “an uncompromising fight against this unfair exercise.” He added: “The Union government’s plan for delimitation is a blatant assault on federalism, punishing states that ensured population control and good governance by stripping away our rightful voice in Parliament. We will not allow this democratic injustice.”
Further, invitations to the JAC meeting have been extended to the CPI(M), CPI, Congress, AIMIM, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, YSRCP, TDP, BRS, Jana Sena, Trinamool Congress, AAP and to the state units of the BJP in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, a war of words erupted between the ruling- DMK and the AIADMK over the March 6 all-party meeting. Former Cabinet minister and senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar who had attended the meeting and pledged support, later told media persons that the meeting had been a “drama”. Senior DMK leader RS Bharathi has fired back asking, “If the meeting was just drama, did Jayakumar attend in the role of the villain or comedian?”