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Updated on: April 17, 2026 9:59:41 AM IST
Special Session of Parliament Live: The Lok Sabha is scheduled to continue discussion and vote on passing the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase seats to 850
- 8 minutes agoIndia Bloc MPs meet to strategize floor on Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.
- 26 minutes agoThe South’s share remains close to 24% despite the rise in seats
- 39 minutes agoThis all happened on the first day?
- 1 hour agoLok Sabha is considering the Delimitation Bill and amendments to the Women Reservation Bill for passage today
Special Session of Parliament Live: Home Minister Amit Shah speaks in Lok Sabha during the special session of Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. (Annie’s photo/Rahul Singh)
The decision on three major bills, including increasing the quota for women in Parliament and expanding the number of seats, will be taken today at 4pm in the Lok Sabha, but after several more hours of discussion. The three bills introduced in Parliament by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday are the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026; Federal Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. These bills propose to increase the size of the Lok Sabha, enable demarcation of boundaries on the basis of the 2011 Census, and allow implementation of reservation for women on the basis of such demarcation. The Union Territories Laws Bill makes similar provisions for Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
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Read also | Lok Sabha seats for all states increased by 50%, law minister says; 272 is for women
The Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill, including removing the requirement that the law be implemented only after a fresh census is conducted. According to the final section, 251 members voted in favor of the resolution and 185 voted against it, out of a total of 333 votes. With this majority, all the three bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Why do the southern states refuse to accept the bill?
Several MPs from the DMK and Congress also claimed that southern states would be disproportionately affected if the bill is passed in its current form. Leaders like Manickam Tagore and Araga have claimed that states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala may not see a proportionate increase in seats compared to the northern states.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought to allay concerns raised by opposition members about southern states losing influence due to increase in seats. Although there will be a 50% increase in seats, the relative share of southern states in the total will also rise, he said.
12 hour discussion
The Center and the Opposition discussed the bills throughout the day, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing to the opposition parties to support them, saying opposing the bills would only give him political gains.
Read also | Focus on attendance as the Lok Sabha prepares to vote on crucial bills
The Congress said the bill was against the integrity of the country, while AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi strongly opposed the introduction of the Women Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill. If these bills become law, he said, “the voice of opposition will be reduced to nothing in this House.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticized the BJP-led government, alleging that it is delaying the caste-based census as its conduct would require publishing data and implementing caste-based reservations for backward communities.
“The Samajwadi Party supports the Women’s Protection Bill. We have always worked for women’s empowerment. But the BJP is trying to turn women into a slogan. The BJP must answer: Of the 21 states it governs, how many are women chief ministers? Even the Delhi chief minister does not have full powers; she is ‘half chief minister’. Why this urgency?” he asked.
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April 17, 2026 at 9:57:34 am
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Special Parliament Session Live: India Bloc MPs meet to strategize floor on Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill
Special Session of Parliament Live: India Bloc MPs are scheduled to hold a meeting in Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber in Parliament at 10 am on Friday to chalk out a strategy for the House floor.
This comes as the Lok Sabha today is scheduled to continue discussion and vote on passing the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-One Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which expands its scope to include Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to be increased and redrawn. Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing their number to 850. (ANI)
April 17, 2026 at 9:39:58 am
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Special session of Parliament Live: The South’s share remains close to 24% despite the increase in seats
Live Special Session of Parliament: The southern states currently have 129 seats out of 543 (23.76%). After demarcating the borders, this number increases to 195 seats out of 816 (23.87%), which means that the quota will not be reduced.
At the state level: Karnataka rose from 28 to 42 seats, Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 38, Telangana from 17 to 26, Tamil Nadu from 39 to 59, and Kerala from 20 to 30, Home Minister Amit Shah said.
The remaining 621 seats out of a total of 816 will be distributed among other states, especially in northern India.
April 17, 2026 at 9:26:33 am
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Special session of Parliament Live: Everything that happened on the first day?
Special Session of Parliament Live: The House of Representatives held a marathon 12-hour session to deliberate on amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill on the first day of the session.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah participated in the discussion. Opposition figures like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress leader KC Venugopal also participated in the discussion.
The Congress urged the government to withdraw the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in its current form and hold an all-party meeting to build consensus.
“If these bills become law, the voice of the opposition will be reduced to nothing in this House,” Owaisi claimed.
Meanwhile, several DMK and Congress MPs argued that southern states would be disproportionately affected if the bill is passed in its current form.
Shah sought to allay these concerns, noting that while there would be a 50% increase in seats, the relative share of southern states in the total would also rise.
April 17, 2026 at 9:05:30 am
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Special Session of Parliament Live: Lok Sabha considers Delimitation Bill, amendments to Women’s Reservation Bill for passage today
Special Session of Parliament Live: The Lok Sabha on Friday will continue its debate and begin voting on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. It will also consider the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which expands the scope of this provision to include Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which seeks to redraw constituencies and expand the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850.
Home India News India Bloc MPs meet to draw up Astra Tija on border demarcation and women’s quota bills before the second day of the Lok Sabha session He lives
