Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that a three-day special session of Parliament from April 16-18 will fast-track the implementation of 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, assuring southern states that their representation will not decrease, adding that the total number of seats in the lower house will increase.
In his address to a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in the state of Kerala, which is witnessing elections, Modi said that any state that worked to control its population would not see a decrease in seats, and that reservation for women would be higher than the current strength of Parliament. He said that the government called the opposition to a meeting and urged all parties to pass the amendments to Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhiniyam unanimously.
“It is our government that has provided 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Parliament will reconvene for three days from April 16-18,” Modi said at a rally in Thiruvalla. The benefits of the law we have passed should start flowing during the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.”
The 140-member Kerala Assembly goes to the polls on April 9, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
“In states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which have done well in tackling population growth, we are ensuring that the number of Lok Sabha seats will not be reduced. The seats reserved for women will be additional seats. We have called on Congress leaders for a meeting on this and hope they will listen to us.”
This is the first time the government has confirmed that it is looking to expand the strength of the Lok Sabha as part of its plan to operationalize the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was passed in 2023. HT reported that the government is working on bills to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 816.
“Our goal is clear: to ensure 33% representation of women in Parliament from 2029 onwards. There have been rumors about population-based seat reduction in states. We want to reassure all states that no seat will be reduced. In fact, the total number of seats will increase, benefiting every region of the country, including south India,” Modi added, quoted by the BJP on X.
Parliament’s budget session was not adjourned or ended indefinitely earlier this week. Both chambers will meet on April 16. The government wants to separate the bill from the ongoing census and put it in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on April 23. West Bengal goes to the polls on April 23-29.
The Opposition has attacked the government over reports that it is planning to expand the strength of the Lok Sabha and set up a delimitation committee, asserting that the government’s push for a speedy demarcation exercise will have “serious consequences alleging that it will violate the model code of conduct applicable for the five district assembly elections this month.”
In addition, leaders from southern India, such as Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, have expressed concerns about what they fear will be an “unfair demarcation process.” To be sure, Congress has indicated that it may support amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill. Several opposition parties have proposed opposing the immediate implementation of the law when it is passed in 2023.
Hizb ut-Tahrir previously reported that the move could increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabhatu to 816 seats. Of these, 273 seats will be reserved for women, and the proportional representation of each state will remain the same. The number 816 is close to the number 814.5 which could be reached by increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, currently 543, by a third. Proportional representation means, for example, that Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha (14.73%), will get 120 seats in the new Lok Sabha; Tamil Nadu, with 39 seats (7.18%), will have 59 seats.
At the rally, Modi also criticized the Congress and Left parties, accusing them of harming the faith and purity of the Sabarimala temple.
“Be it corruption or the appeasement policies of the Left and the Congress, the impact has also been felt on the state’s culture and belief systems. They have organized to insult the faith and purity of Sabarimala. They have organized to insult the faith and purity of Sabarimala,” he said, against the backdrop of the Sabarimala temple gold asset misappropriation case, which is currently being investigated by a special team of Kerala Police.
At least three CPI(M) leaders and several senior Devaswom officials have been arrested so far in the case.
The Prime Minister also alleged that although the looting took place under the Left Democratic Front administration, those accused of theft were found to be linked to senior Congress leaders. His reference was to photos posted on social media of Unnikrishnan Butte, the first accused in the case, with Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi years ago. He claimed that Left party leaders are known to attack the Hindu faith and hence are reluctant to hand over the issue to the CBI.
“The Congress, which has distanced itself from temple-related matters, is playing a farce and pretending to be a well-wisher of the Hindu faith. When the NDA government is formed, the leaders of the LDF and the United Democratic Front will be punished. What has been looted (from Sabarimala) will have to be returned. These people cannot escape the wrath of the believers of Lord Ayyappa,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the rivalry between the Left and Congress parties in Kerala is fake. “They are two sides of the same coin. Their rivalry is fake and their friendship is evergreen. In Delhi, they come together to form governments. Even in Tamil Nadu, they are together,” he said.
The Prime Minister arrived in Kerala around 3 pm and held a rally in Thiruvalla to support NDA candidates in the central districts of Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Alappuzha. After that, he flew to Thiruvananthapuram to conduct a roadshow in the city. He left for Delhi shortly afterwards.
