NEW DELHI: Derek O'Brien, the Trinamool Congress leader in the Rajya Sabha, on Monday accused the Centre of “making a mockery of Parliament”, stating that lawmakers have yet to be provided with draft versions of the proposed legislations on women’s reservation and delimitation.
In a post on X, O’Brien targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying, “Narendra and Amit continue to mock Parliament. And how!”
He added that Parliament is scheduled to meet within the next 48 hours and “no one has even seen a copy of the proposed Constitutional Amendment”. O’Brien further remarked, “This is what dictatorship looks like.”
His comments come amid mounting criticism from opposition parties regarding the government’s push to introduce major constitutional changes, including those linked to delimitation and women’s reservation.
The Union Cabinet has cleared draft bills to operationalise the 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 Constitution Amendment Bill to modify provisions of the Act, alongside amendments to the Delimitation Act to enable the redrawing of constituencies in line with the expanded House strength.
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.
(With inputs from PTI)