"Attempt made earlier to reduce Adivasi seats in Jharkhand": CM Soren amid delimitation row

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], March 22 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday raised concerns over the ongoing issue of delimitation, recalling a previous attempt to reduce the number of tribal seats in the state, which sparked significant uproar and was eventually postponed.
Speaking to the media, CM Soren emphasised that the state government would engage in detailed discussions regarding the proposed changes, stressing the importance of addressing the concerns of the tribal communities.
"You know that this attempt was made earlier also and an attempt was made to reduce the number of Adivasi seats in the state. There was a lot of ruckus on the same, and then the decision was postponed. Now, we will discuss this in detail," the Jharkhand CM said.
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 meeting was attended by various political leaders, including Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das, and Biju Janata Dal leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, among others.
The JAC unanimously demanded transparency from the Union government over any delimitation exercise and asked to extend the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census Population for the 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. (ANI)