Bhubaneswar: The main Opposition party in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), has officially confirmed that it will attend the Joint Action Committee on the delimitation row, scheduled to be held in Chennai on March 22.
As per an official press statement issued by the BJD on Friday, the party supremo and former Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, has nominated two senior party leaders, Dr Amar Patnaik and Sanjay Das Burma, to attend the JAC on behalf of the party.
“President Biju Janata Dal, Naveen Patnaik, has nominated former MP Dr Amar Patnaik and former minister Sanjay Das Burma to attend as representatives of the BJD, the Joint Action Committee on Delimitation that has been convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin tomorrow in Chennai,” reads the press note.
It is pertinent here to mention that a two-member delegation of the DMK, including former Union Minister and DMK MP, Dayanidhi Maran and Tamil Nadu Industries Minister, TRB Rajaa, had met the BJD supremo on March 11 and invited him to attend the meeting to oppose delimitation.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK President, M.K. Stalin, has invited representatives from various political parties across the country to join the efforts to raise their voices against delimitation, which the party claims, is a “blatant assault on federalism.”
As per reports, political leaders from seven states, including those from Odisha, Punjab, and Bengal, are likely to attend the Joint Action Committee meeting in Chennai on March 22 to discuss the delimitation row.
“I extend my warmest welcome to the leaders from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab who are joining us for the Joint Action Committee meeting on #FairDelimitation,” wrote CM Stalin on Friday.
The Tamil Nadu CM has also called the March 22 meeting as a historic day for Indian federalism.
“This is a defining moment in our collective journey. This is more than a meeting — it is the beginning of a movement that will shape the future of our country,” added CM Stalin.
Notably, the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, are wary about probable reduction in the number of parliamentary seats following the delimitation process which is scheduled to be carried out on the basis of the first Census after 2026.
(IANS)
