Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak in Lok Sabha at 3 pm today.
The opposition strongly opposed the three major bills presented by the Center at Parliament House on Thursday. From wearing black clothes to raising strong objections during her statements in the Lok Sabha, the opposition has left no stone unturned to express its criticism of the government’s moves. In Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister M K Stalin was seen burning copies of the demarcation bill.
The government introduced three pieces of legislation: the Constitution Amendment Bill to amend the women’s quota law, A The Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which aims to implement 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. This faced strong resistance from the major opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced after split votes in the House of Representatives. A total of 251 members supported its introduction, while 185 members opposed it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak in Lok Sabha later today.
The total number, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha The seats in the House of Representatives will be increased to 815. He said the seats across states will be expanded by about 50%.
Of the 815 proposed seats, 272 will be reserved for women.
They wear black clothes
The opposition parties said they were not against women’s reservation, but opposed linking it to border demarcation.
DMK MPs reached the Lok Sabha They wear black clothes as a sign of protest. Senior leader TR Balu said, “We support the Women’s Quota Act, 2023; but the current bill is aimed at demarcation.” He added that the party supports reservation for women but does not link it to redrawing electoral districts.
Congress also framed the bill as a threat to federal principles. Senior leader KC Venugopal called it a “fundamental attack on India’s federal structure” and said “women’s right is an excuse.”
Opposition leaders claimed that the proposed demarcation exercise, based on the 2011 census, could change the political balance ahead of the 2029 general elections.
“Leave Muslims”
Several leaders directly opposed the bill during the debate. President of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi said: “I oppose its proposal… it is against federalism.”
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the government was “deliberately ignoring Muslims”, drawing a sharp reaction from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said: “There is no reservation on the basis of religion,” adding that such provisions would be unconstitutional.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded a complete retraction, saying the government should “withdraw all the three bills”.
Boycott calls
Congress announced that the opposition would boycott the conference Election of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as a sign of protest.
Tamil Nadu CM burns bill
Earlier, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin burned a copy of the draft border demarcation law in protest, calling it a “conspiracy and a black law.”
“I hope the resistance spreads across Tamil Nadu. I hope the arrogance of the fascist BJP collapses… You have lit another fire by burning a copy of the black law that turns Tamils into refugees in their own land,” he said in a statement. He also called for black flag protests across the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said the Union government is “trying to reduce the representation of Tamil Nadu” through the proposed exercise.
Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “We have decided to oppose this bill but we are not against reservation for women. We are against the demarcation provisions in the bill.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav described the move as a “conspiracy”. TMC leader Derek O’Brien called it a “twisted agenda”, while Congress general secretary Venugopal accused the government of trying to “bulldoze the flawed, unconstitutional and anti-federal demarcation process”.
The proposed framework includes expanding the House of Representatives from 543 to 850 seats and reserving a third of them for women. It also seeks to end the freeze on seat redistribution that has been in place since 1976.
Anita Goswami is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, where she primarily covers Indian and international news. With four years of experience in the field, she has led coverage of Indian general elections, Assembly elections, and national polls in the US, Canada, Bangladesh and Nepal. Its reports cover world wars and major events, including Operation Sindoor, the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina, and the Mahakumbh Mela. It verifies the facts and uses clear sources to ensure the accuracy of the reports. As a former Editor-in-Chief at Storytailors, she has managed teams to produce high-quality content for networks such as NDTV, Profit, CNBC-TV18, Upstox and News18. Her work has appeared on NDTV, Meaww and Global Pulse. Throughout her tenure, Anita has collaborated with and received mentoring from leading industry experts. When she’s not reading, Anita can be found outside or at a bakery. Areas of interest: Indian political history, international elections, historical policy analysis, global conflicts, cultural events, Formula 1, art, media ethics, reporting on social and political change over time.Read more
