Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 22 : After attending the first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on Delimitation, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to reduce seats in the states where it does not win
Speaking to the media, CM Mann asked if South India is getting punished for population control.
"They (BJP) are reducing seats where they don't win. Is South India getting punished for population control?" he said
Regarding the next meeting on delimitation, which is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad, Punjab CM Mann said, "Wherever we are called, we will go."
Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee on Saturday passed a resolution on the issue of delimitation, expressing concern over the "lack of transparency and clarity" from the Union government.
The JAC unanimously demanded greater transparency from the Union government regarding any delimitation exercise and called for the extension of the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census Population for another 25 years.
"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." the resolution passed by JAC read.
The JAC, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, urged the central government "not to penalise" the states that have effectively implemented the population control program.
"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," JAC resolved.
Additionally, the JAC resolved that MPs would counter any attempts by the Union Government to undertake any delimitation exercise contrary to the principles outlined in the resolution.
"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 read.
"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 resolution added.
The first meeting of JAC, convened by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, was held in Chennai today. The meeting was attended by various political leaders, including Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das, and Biju Janata Dal leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, among others.