The Congress will try to push for 33% reservation for women among the current 543 Lok Sabha seats, and will push the government to delay the proposed delimitation process for the sake of a fairer distribution of seats, rather than a 50% proportional increase in each state’s parliamentary strength, leaders familiar with the details said on Monday.
The next special session of Parliament, from April 16 to 18, is scheduled to decide between the implementation of women’s reservation and the population census.
“The Opposition’s mission is set for the next session,” a senior Congress leader said. “It should oppose the delimitation bill but extend full support to the amendments to Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhinyam. It should also formulate a joint strategy and ensure that its members turn up in large numbers to oppose the delimitation bill during voting in both the Houses.”
Referring to an article written by Sonia Gandhi on the issue, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Sonia Gandhi asserts that the real issue behind the Modi government’s call for a special session of Parliament is not reservation for women but demarcation of boundaries, delaying and derailing the caste census.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi posted on X that “any delimitation that involves an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha must be fair politically, not just arithmetic.”
“We will seek to popularize women’s reservation within the existing strength of Lok Sabha. As Karg said in 2023, we will also push for inclusion of OBCs under women’s quota,” said a senior Congress strategist involved in the planning.
Reorganizing Lok Sabha seats and their boundaries will also require a bill to amend the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament and support from a majority of states. The opposition hopes to exploit this opportunity to disrupt any plan to increase seats in the state assemblies and the House of Representatives by 50%.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said: “Amendment to the Women’s Reservation Act is not the issue. The real issue is the demarcation bill. The government is trying to pass it through the back doors, under the cover of the women’s reservation bill.”
