The Constitution Amendment Bill to expand the size of the Lok Sabha and 33% fast track reservation for women failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on Friday, marking the first defeat for a government bill since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 2014.
The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill – which sought to raise the Lok Sabha floor to 850 and implement 33% reservation for women in time for the 2029 elections – was defeated by a united opposition that did not concede despite a dramatic last-minute offer by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to incorporate a 50% proportional increase for all states in the bill.
The final tally in Lok Sabha was 298-230, indicating that both camps got their maximum strength. The opposition needed at least 181 votes to reject the bill.
“The Constitution Amendment Bill (131st Amendment) was not passed as it did not get two-thirds majority during voting in the House,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said.
What happened to the other two bills?
The government withdrew two other related bills – one providing for border demarcation based on the last available population census, effectively a 2011 law, and the other implementing the changes in the federal territories – shortly afterwards.
Women’s reservation law is in place
To be sure, the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 still stands and it was notified by the government in the Official Gazette on Thursday evening. If the law is to be implemented, the government must still introduce a draft demarcation law, as the 2023 law links quotas to the demarcation process.
Members of the ruling coalition took to the streets to protest the defeat of the bill, describing the opposition as anti-women.
“Congress, TMC, DMK and Samajwadi Party did not allow the Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhiniyam Party Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed. Rejecting the bill that would give women 33% of reserves, celebrating it and raising shouts of victory over it is truly reprehensible and beyond imagination,” Shah said on X programme.
“I want to tell them that this insult to Nari Shakti will not stop here; it will spread far and wide. The opposition will have to confront ‘women’s anger’ not just in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but at every level, in every election, everywhere,” he added.
The opposition rejected this claim, saying it favored women’s reservations but opposed the issue of border demarcation, and questioned the government’s timing and intentions.
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, said: “We have defeated this attack on the Constitution. We have clearly said that this is not a bill for women, but a way to change the political structure in India.”
“The bill brought against Tamil Nadu being rejected in Parliament is the news that has reached us now. This victory is just a trailer,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said.
This is the first time that the Constitution Amendment Bill has failed to get the required force in the Lok Sabha since 2011, when a bill to grant constitutional status to the Lokpal was defeated.
The NDA called a meeting of all lawmakers on Friday evening. A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Saturday. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are also scheduled to meet again on Saturday morning, the last day of the three-day special session.
Reservation of one-third of seats in legislative assemblies and the House of Representatives (Lok Sabha) has been a controversial issue dating back to the Constituent Assembly debates. Previous attempts to pass the bill were repeatedly thwarted in the 1990s and 2000s, with regional parties opposing the move. In 2010, the bill passed the Rajya Sabha but was stalled in the Lok Sabha. Finally, in 2023, the Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhinyam Act passed with near unanimity in Parliament, stipulating a 33% reservation for women based on a new census and demarcation.
But earlier this week, the government introduced three draft laws aimed at decoupling the implementation of the women’s quota from population census and border demarcation. The government’s legislative push included raising the maximum seats in the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with seats allocated to states, reserved constituencies and their boundaries to be determined by the Delimitation Commission on the basis of the last census, which means the 2011 census in this case.
On the first day of the debate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the opposition that each state’s seat share would not be touched. But the opposition remained unconvinced, pointing out precisely that the government’s assurances were verbal and were not contained in the text of the draft laws. They also raised questions about the Centre’s intent on the caste census, the timing of the special session – in the middle of the election campaign in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal later this month – and asked why reservation for women could not be implemented with the current strength of the House.
On Friday during his speech, Shah tried to turn the tables on the opposition, offering to introduce a formal amendment providing for a 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats in exchange for support for the women’s reservation bill. “If I return to the House in an hour with a revised version of the bill carrying the 50% guarantee, will you support the bill?” he asked.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav rejected it, saying the opposition does not trust the government.
After the failure of the bill in the House of Representatives, members of the National Democratic Rally chanted slogans condemning the opposition. Women members of the National Democratic Rally staged a separate protest at Parliament House, where they raised banners and chanted slogans “Sharm Karo.” [be ashamed]“Against the opposition.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the opposition. “The ruling on this historic and important bill, which gives representation and respect to women, did not have the support of the opposition. This is very unfortunate. They have missed an opportunity. The resolution to provide respect and rights to women will continue under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, and we will deliver it,” he said.
But the opposition declared victory, pointing out that the government did not conduct any consultations, did not provide guarantees, and held a parliamentary session amid an election campaign. They also accused the Center of trying to deprive backward castes and Dalits of their rights, saying that women’s quota should be implemented after the caste census.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: “It was not about women’s reservation but about democracy. We can never agree to link delimitation with women’s reservation. This bill could not have been passed. This is a big win for democracy in our country.”
“The bill was rejected because of the way the government linked women’s reservation to early border demarcation and census.”
Rahul’s phone call on Friday morning with Trinamool Hall leader Abhishek Banerjee boosted the opposition’s presence, with the Trinamool Congress sending 21 MPs to the House, people familiar with the matter said. They added that opposition unity, aided by the support of the Socialist Party, thwarted the government’s attempt despite last-minute assurances on border demarcation.
