Delimitation: Stalin reaches out to seven CMs, heads of parties

CHENNAI: Stepping up his criticism against population-based delimitation, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Friday wrote to several chief ministers, former CMs and party heads, with a call for an uncompromising fight against the “unfair exercise.”

“Union govt'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!” he posted on X, the microblogging platform.

The chief minister sent a letter to his counterparts Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana), N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), and Mohan Majhi (Odisha), besides party heads of the respective states, seeking their formal consent to join and nominate a senior representative to a Joint Action Committee to coordinate a unified strategy.

“I propose an inaugural meeting on March 22 to chart our collective course forward,” he said. The delimitation exercise, originally anticipated after the 2031 census, could now take place much earlier than expected with the 2021 census getting delayed.

If the exercise is conducted as per the next census population, the states which controlled their population and achieved superior governance indicators will face unjust punishment - reduced representation in the very forum where national policies are determined, Stalin said. “Once implemented, this democratic imbalance could persist for decades, leaving our states with diminished capacity to advocate our people's interests, secure rightful resources, and influence critical national decisions,” the chief minister said, emphasising that his opposition was not against delimitation but its weaponisation against states that fulfilled national duties.

Accusing Union govt of not providing either clarity or any concrete commitment to address the concerns despite the gravity of the issue, Stalin alleged that BJP functionaries vaguely stated that delimitation would follow a “pro-rata” basis, without explaining the base used for such pro-rata calculation, as well as raising empty rhetoric that no state would face a decrease in its seats.

“When the very foundation of our democracy is at stake, can we accept such vague assurances? When our states' future hangs in the balance, do we not deserve transparent dialogue?” Stalin said.

Noting that the delimitation issue transcends individual state concerns and strikes at the heart of federal principles, Stalin said states must examine the constitutional, legal, and political dimensions of the challenge.

“We must jointly develop alternatives that preserve our current representation in percentage terms. Only through collaborative analysis and unified advocacy can we hope to secure a delimitation process that honours our role in nation-building without compromising our current level of representation in percentage terms,” he said, asking leaders to rise above political differences and stand up for the collective good.