Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the government's proposed delimitation exercise and called for the Lok Sabha's existing strength of 543 seats to be retained for another 25 years.
In a letter to Modi, Kharge also sought the continuation of the existing state-wise allocation of Lok Sabha seats for 25 years and the implementation of one-third reservation for women from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Kharge urged the government to share its delimitation proposals with all political parties and give them and state governments sufficient time to study the proposals before introducing them in Parliament.
The Congress president said he had made a similar request to Modi on July 16, seeking an all-party meeting on the issue and adequate time for political parties to examine the government's proposals.
Kharge reiterated the request after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister said in a television interview that a special session of Parliament could be convened to discuss delimitation-related proposals.
“This perhaps explains the continued delay in the prorogation of the Monsoon session,” Kharge said.
He said the Congress's position was clear: the Lok Sabha's existing strength of 543 seats should be maintained for another 25 years, the current state-wise allocation of seats should remain unchanged for the same period, and one-third reservation for women should be introduced from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
“Before you go ahead as indicated by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, I wish to reiterate my earlier request to you to convene an all-party meeting to discuss whatever delimitation proposals you have in mind; give all political parties and state governments adequate time to study such proposals,” Kharge said.
Calling delimitation an issue of “enormous significance” for the country, Kharge urged Modi not to “bulldoze” the proposals as he alleged the government had attempted on April 16 and 17, 2026.
The Congress has previously demanded that the existing strength of the Lok Sabha be frozen and that 33% reservation for women be implemented.
Earlier this month, the Congress Working Committee reiterated its support for both demands.
The opposition party had also criticised Modi's appeal to political parties to support a delimitation-linked bill for implementing women's reservation, calling it “drama” and alleging that the government's focus was “Modi preservation, not women's reservation”.
During the Budget session on April 17, a Constitution amendment bill linked to delimitation and the implementation of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was defeated in the Lower House.
Of the 528 MPs who voted, 298 supported the bill and 230 opposed it. The bill required a two-thirds majority, or 352 votes, to pass.
(With inputs from PTI)