- Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram
- Tamil Nadu CM Vijay opposed NEET, urging admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks only
- Vijay demanded legislative assurance against loss of parliamentary seats due to population control
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday made a strong pitch for a united South, calling for greater cooperation among the southern states on shared challenges including inter-state water disputes, drug abuse, NEET, delimitation and economic development.
Addressing the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting at Mahabalipuram, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Vijay, the Vice-Chair of the Council, said the southern states, which together contribute more than 30% of India's GDP, could achieve greater growth by acting as an integrated region.
The meeting was attended by chief ministers and ministers of the southern states, while the chief ministers of Puducherry and Telangana skipped it.
Tacitly referring to Karnataka's plan to construct the Mekedatu reservoir across the Cauvery, Vijay said upstream interventions that could affect another state's rightful share must proceed only within the legal and institutional framework.
With Tamil Nadu being the lower riparian state, he stressed that its rights and assured river flows must be protected. He said the Supreme Court's judgment, tribunal awards and orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority must be implemented "in letter and spirit", and specifically called for timely implementation of the Supreme Court judgment and the authority's decisions.
On Mullaperiyar, the Tamil Nadu-controlled dam in Kerala originally built by the British, Vijay said safety concerns over raising the storage level from 146 feet to 152 feet must be guided by judicial decisions. Kerala continues to oppose raising the level to 152 feet on safety grounds, despite the Supreme Court's order permitting the increase after the dam was strengthened.
Vijay said mutual trust, scientific evidence and respect for the law could protect the interests of every riparian state.
Vijay also renewed Tamil Nadu's opposition to NEET, saying it places rural students and those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds at a disadvantage, particularly those unable to afford private coaching.
He urged the Centre to permit Tamil Nadu to fill all state-quota seats in MBBS, BDS and AYUSH courses solely on the basis of Class XII marks, describing the state's school-based system as equitable and inclusive.
On delimitation, Vijay warned that population-based redistribution of Lok Sabha seats could diminish the collective voice of the southern states, which have successfully stabilised their populations. He sought a clear legislative assurance that no state would suffer a reduction in its percentage of parliamentary representation because of its success in population stabilisation.
Vijay's formulation marks a slight shift from the Tamil Nadu Assembly's earlier resolution, which had sought a freeze on the present Lok Sabha strength of 543 seats.
Drug abuse, a key issue in recent Tamil Nadu politics and a major TVK poll promise, also figured prominently. Vijay called for southern states to jointly curb the inter-state movement of narcotics through intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement.
He also urged the Centre to tighten regulation of online sales of prescription medicines and act against unauthorised sales. A coordinated regional effort, he said, could help realise not only a "Drug-Free Tamil Nadu" but a "Drug-Free South India".
Turning to fiscal federalism, Vijay demanded fair and equitable treatment for the southern states ahead of the next Finance Commission, saying states that had invested in development, fiscal discipline and population stabilisation should not be disadvantaged.
He also called for states to work together to "reclaim flexibility in tax rate determination", pointing out that after GST, states have virtually no flexible revenue levers outside petroleum and alcohol.
Vijay proposed common economic and logistics clusters across the South, including integrated manufacturing zones, multimodal logistics parks and freight corridors. He cited the proposed Bengaluru Metro extension from Bommasandra to Hosur as a model of interstate cooperation, urging the Union and both states to take it forward.
He also called for a common maritime strategy covering ports, coastal shipping, fisheries and marine industries to unlock the region's blue economy.
"Our rivers, coasts, infrastructure and markets should unite us in a common purpose and shared prosperity," Vijay said, ending with his larger message: "Strong states make for a stronger India."
