Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 22 (ANI): Leaders from several opposition parties started arriving in Chennai to attend the 1st Joint Action Committee Meeting on the issue of delimitation, as the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government aims to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre over the issue citing attack on federalism.

The meeting of Chief Ministers and leaders of various states to discuss the issue of delimitation has been called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai today.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar arrived in Chennai on Saturday to attend the first meeting on delimitation on behalf of the Karnataka government.

Visuals from near the meeting spot showed that posters and banners had been put up in the area about the meeting.

Leaders from Telangana have already arrived in Chennai to attend the meeting. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao reached Chennai on Friday night to attend the meeting.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also reached Chennai to participate in the first meet of the Joint Action Committee.

The arrival list also has Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das and Biju Janata Dal leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has called for a joint effort from various political parties to raise their voices against delimitation, calling for a Joint Action Committee meeting to be held in Chennai, inviting representatives from various political parties to join against the 'blatant assault on federalism.'

Chief Minister Stalin had written to the Chief Ministers of seven states, both from National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruling states and otherwise, to join him in the 'fight against this unfair exercise.'

The MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government has locked horns with the Central government over the three-language formula proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the delimitation exercise.

On Friday, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai accused the BJP of attempting to downplay the issue of delimitation.

'The BJP just wants to dismiss the delimitation issue as though it's a non-issue. We have been accusing the BJP of being a Hindi majoritarian party. This is a chance for them to show they stand for the entire country. Freeze this issue for 30 years because the population in the North Indian states has not come down, while the South Indian states have done that. We don't expect rewards, we expect equal treatment.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said that fair delimitation is crucial, not just for the number of MPs, but for the state's rights.

'Fair delimitation is the talk of the town right now. Why has the DMK brought this to focus? Because in 2026, delimitation will happen. And if the delimitation exercise is carried out based on population, our representation in Parliament will be severely affected. This is not just about the number of MPs but about our State's rights. This is why we have convened a meeting of all parties. Except the BJP, every other party stood together as one,' Stalin said in a video posted on X.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya accused the DMK of using delimitation and NEP's three-language formula to gain political benefits in the 2026 elections.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Surya said, 'The drama being enacted by the DMK, whether on the issue of delimitation or imposition of Hindi, should be seen through the prism of the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections. It is being done to divert the attention of the people of Tamil Nadu from the real issues of lack of development and rampant corruption under the DMK rule.'

Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K. Annamalai has also sharply criticised the ongoing political discourse around delimitation, calling it a 'non-issue' and accusing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin of unnecessarily stirring controversy.

'Like One Nation One Election, we are talking to the people now. A committee has submitted a report before the Parliament, and we all know the way forward,' said K Annamalai to the media.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin had called an all-party meeting to discuss the proposed delimitation's impact on the state, which was boycotted by BJP. (ANI)