Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Monday accused the Center of “making a mockery of Parliament” and said lawmakers were yet to get the draft legislation on women’s reservation and delimitation.
In a post on X, O’Brien took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying: “Narendra and Amit continue to mock Parliament. And how!”
O’Brien said Parliament was scheduled to meet in the next 48 hours and “no one has even seen a copy of the proposed constitutional amendment.” He added: “This is what a dictatorship looks like.”
His remarks come amid growing criticism from opposition parties regarding the government’s push to introduce major constitutional changes, including those linked to border demarcation and reservation for women.
The Union Cabinet has approved bills to operationalize Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The proposed changes include increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 seats reserved for women.
The legislative package is expected to include a draft law to amend the Constitution to amend the provisions of the law, along with amendments to the demarcation law to enable the redrawing of electoral districts in line with the expanded strength of the House of Representatives.
Another bill is also likely to extend the implementation of the reservation framework to union territories with legislatures, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
