The Congress on Thursday said the real intent of the bills being brought by the government in the guise of implementing the women’s reservation law is “mischievous” and they should be completely rejected in their current form.
After a meeting of India Alliance leaders before the commencement of Parliament proceedings, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition will not allow Parliament to be hijacked by faulty delimitation bills introduced in the name of women’s reservation.
“We are united and will fight this vicious attack on our democracy with full force,” Kharge said on Twitter.
Apart from Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, DMK’s TR Baalu, TMC’s Sagarika Ghosh, CPI (M)’s John Brittas, RSP’s N.K. Premachandran and others were present at the meeting held in the Kharge chamber in the Parliament House complex.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that all three bills are being raised in the Lok Sabha and the Packaging and Marketing Bill is related to reservation for women, but its basic principles are related to delimitation.
“A lot of concerns have been raised from across the country about the delimitation proposals, which privilege some of the more populous states where the BJP is strong right now. The relative strength of many states in the Lok Sabha will actually be reduced,” Ramesh said on X.
He said the way delimitation has been done in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir shows “how viciously the Modi-Shah duo works.”
Ramesh asserted, “The real intent of these bills is mischievous, their content is fraudulent and the harm they cause is huge. They should be completely rejected in their current form.”
“The opposition’s demand is simple: one-third of the current 543 Lok Sabha seats should be reserved for women, along with reservation for women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes,” he said.
He further said that this was the stand of the opposition in 2023 and the same stand continues even today.
“This is true power-sharing and is much more democratic and in line with constitutional values and principles,” Ramesh said.
His comments came at a time when the government on Thursday announced the introduction of three bills in the Lok Sabha, aimed at implementing the reservation law for women by 2029 and increasing the strength of the House to 850.
According to a bulletin issued on Wednesday, the ‘Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026’, ‘Delimitation Bill, 2026’ and ‘Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill), 2026’ will be introduced in the Lower House and debated for passage.
While Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce the first two bills, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will introduce the third bill.
According to the draft Constitution Amendment Bill, the number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased from the current 543 to a maximum of 850, following the delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census, to “implement” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary elections.
The number of seats in state and union territory assemblies will also be increased to accommodate 33 percent reservation for women.
The seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a State or Union Territory,” the draft bill circulated among Lok Sabha members said.
Several opposition parties on Wednesday decided to vote unitedly against the delimitation provisions in the Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament, while also saying they were not against reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Kharge said opposition parties were protesting the way the bill was introduced and alleged that it was politically motivated.
Apart from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), leaders of several constituents of the India alliance met at Kharge’s residence here on Wednesday to chalk out a joint strategy during the three-day special session of Parliament beginning on Thursday.
In a post on X on Wednesday night, Ramesh said, “The opposition will make every effort to defeat the Constitution Amendment Bill. The country should be prepared for a political earthquake.”
A three-day special session of Parliament began on Thursday in which amendments will be introduced to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, which mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. These amendments will come into effect from 2029.
The ruling NDA has a total of 292 seats in the Lok Sabha, while the major opposition parties have 233 MPs. To pass a Constitution Amendment Bill, a two-thirds majority of the members present in the House at the time of voting will be required.