Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 22 (ANI): 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 transparency from the Union government over any delimitation exercise and asked to extend the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on 1971 Census Population for next 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.

'Given the fact that the legislative intent behind the 42nd, 84th and 87th Constitutional amendments was to protect/incentivise States which have implemented population control measures effectively and the goal of national population stabilisation has not yet been achieved, the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on 1971 Census Population, should be extended by another 25 years,' it added.

The JAC led by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin urged the central government to 'not penalise' the states which 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.

Moreover, JAC resolved that the political parties from different states represented in the meeting will bring appropriate Legislative Assembly resolutions on the delimitation issue.

'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 Union Government. The JAC will also undertake necessary efforts to disseminate information on the history and context of past delimitation exercises and the consequences of the proposed delimitation among the citizens of their respective States, through a coordinated public opinion mobilization strategy.' The resolution read.

Additionally, the JAC resolved that MPs will counter any attempts by the Union Government to undertake any delimitation exercise contrary to the principles mentioned above.

'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 called 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.

Stalin said that the next meeting on the delimitation of constituencies will be held in Hyderabad, Telangana. (ANI)