Delimitation Is Conspiracy Against South: CM

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today said that an action plan was being prepared to thwart the Central government's conspiracy against the Southern States through the delimitation of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.

"This is not just a delimitation of constituencies, but an attempt to reduce the importance of the Southern States. The delimitation process poses a significant loss to these States," Reddy said.

"The Southern States have contributed significantly to the country. The BJP has little representation from the South, and now it wants to take revenge for its defeat in these States. We will thwart the conspiracies hatched by the BJP-led Central government against the Southern States. The Congress has already decided in principle to fight against the Centre. I will attend the Chennai meeting called for by Tamil Nadu CM Stalin with the permission of the Congress high command," he said.

Reddy also said that an all-party meeting would be organized in Telangana to discuss the delimitation issue.

He instructed Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and former minister K Jana Reddy to invite leaders of all parties to the meeting.

"Union minister Kishan Reddy, who is also the BJP State president, is invited as well. He should attend the meeting and convey the concerns raised to the Union Cabinet. Since he hails from Telangana, he must safeguard the State's interests," the CM said.

He also said that a plan of action would be formulated at the meeting in Chennai on March 22 to address the losses associated with the delimitation process.

For context, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had invited the Telangana Chief Minister to attend a meeting in Chennai on March 22 to discuss a strategy to fight for "justice".

A DMK delegation, led by that State's Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru, and including Special Representative A K S Vijayan, DMK Parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, and DMK MPs A Raja, N R Ilango, Kalanithi Veeraswamy and Arun Nehru, handed over a letter from the Tamil Nadu CM to Revanth Reddy in Delhi today.

In the letter, Stalin said that although the provisions stated that delimitation should not be carried out until after the national census in 2026, the Central government had pushed the process forward even before the census.

The Tamil Nadu CM urged Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab to join the Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed to fight the Centre on the delimitation.

He also suggested in the letter that a representative from the Telangana Congress be appointed to the JAC to help plan future action.