Today in Politics: DMK-led delimitation meeting of CMs in Chennai; SC judges to visit Manipur relief camps

Stalin said the meeting would mark a “historic day for Indian federalism”. On Friday, Stalin spoke about the stakes at hand, warning that states that have effectively managed their population growth and contributed to national progress must not be penalised by a skewed delimitation process.

In a show of Opposition unity, the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab — Pinarayi Vijayan, A Revanth Reddy, and Bhagwant Mann — along with Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, and senior representatives of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will attend the first JAC meeting. West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was also invited but is learnt to have decided against sending any representative.

Among the key points on the agenda are taking steps to prolong the current delimitation framework, which is based on the 1971 Census, for an additional 30 years beyond 2026, and drafting a resolution demanding a reconsideration of the 2026 delimitation process.

The meeting is being seen as a critical checkpoint in the larger battle over delimitation. The DMK leadership believes that after Saturday, the Centre can no longer take the issue lightly and hopes that the presence of multiple states at the table will signal the stakes and send a strong message that southern and eastern India will not passively accept an unfavourable outcome.

SC judges to visit Manipur relief camps

The Supreme Court’s Justice B R Gavai and five other judges are visiting the relief camps in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Saturday, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) said.

NALSA said Gavai along with Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, M M Sundresh, K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh are expected to visit the camps on the occasion of the duodecennial celebrations of the Manipur High Court.

Over 200 people were killed, several hundreds injured and thousands displaced since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3, 2023 when a “tribal solidarity march” was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for scheduled tribe status.

Bandhs in Karnataka, Jharkhand

On Saturday, pro-Kannada activists under the banner of the “Kannada Okkuta” umbrella organisation are set to hold a statewide bandh over the alleged assault of a state-run bus conductor in Belagavi last month for not knowing Marathi. However, some organisations and unions have either chosen not to support the bandh or have decided to offer only moral support. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the state government would not encourage a bandh.

In Jharkhand, various tribal outfits have called for an 18-hour bandh in Ranchi on Saturday in protest against the construction of a flyover near a Sarna Sthal, a sacred tribal religious site.

Bihar Diwas

With Assembly elections set to be held later this year, BJP leaders including Union ministers are taking part in week-long celebrations starting Saturday to mark Bihar’s formation day.

The BJP is reaching out to the state’s migrant population at 75 locations across the country as the party looks to deepen its ties with the voters of the state where it is part of the ruling alliance with the CM Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United).

– With PTI inputs