Within a fortnight of hosting the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of non-BJP-ruled states facing the threat of population-based delimitation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Wednesday sought an early appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet him along with a delegation of MPs.

To present a memorandum on the concerns surrounding the proposed delimitation, the Chief Minister had requested a meeting with the Prime Minister at an early date. “I write to request an audience with you, along with select Members of Parliament from various political affiliations, to present a memorandum on delimitation that emerged from our recent deliberations,” says Stalin’s letter to Modi, posted on his ‘X’ handle. Though shared on Wednesday, the letter was written on March 27.

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This followed the March 22 Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting hosted by Tamil Nadu in Chennai in which Chief Ministers Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), DK Shiva Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, former Odisha Chief Minister, and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik as well as leaders from the Congress, CPI, RSP, Kerala Congress, Jana Sena of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, and actor Pawan Kalyan participated. The JAC demanded a freeze on the delimitation exercise for another 25 years. It has also appealed to the Prime Minister to declare this on the floor of Parliament. Prior to this, Stalin had convened an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu, which was attended by nearly 50 registered political parties, barring the BJP.

“The voices emerging from our deliberations transcend political boundaries, embodying the concerns of citizens from diverse regions who seek fair representation in our parliamentary democracy. As this issue holds significant importance to our states and citizens, I kindly request a meeting with you to formally submit the Memorandum on behalf of the Joint Action Committee,” the letter read, expecting a positive response at the earliest.

Earlier, on March 22, Stalin informed the state assembly that he would lead a delegation of MPs from various political parties to impress upon the Prime Minister to be transparent on the delimitation process and consider the concerns of the states feeling threatened about the reduction of their parliamentary representation.

Following in the footsteps of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the Telangana House has also passed a resolution opposing delimitation solely based on population, which is seen as advantageous to the populous north Indian states.