Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday alleged that the BJP was reaching out to the NCP (SP) and the DMK to secure their backing for the proposed 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, and urged the two parties not to support the legislation.
He also warned that backing the new version of the Bill would amount to a "betrayal" of the conscience that guided the two regional parties when a similar proposal was debated earlier this year.
"The BJP is planning to bring back the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill that failed in the last session of Parliament in April 2026," Chidambaram said in a post on X.
"The failed Bill purported to reserve for women one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, but its real purpose was to pave the way for delimitation and, possibly, gerrymandering of constituencies," he said.
Chidambaram argued that the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act had already provided for reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, making a fresh Bill on the subject unnecessary.
"Hence there was, and there is, no need for a new Bill to provide reservation for women," he said.
Alleging that the BJP was seeking wider political support for the legislation, Chidambaram said, "After splitting the TMC, the BJP is reportedly wooing the NCP(SP) and the DMK to garner the crucial votes to support the new version of the failed Bill."
"NCP(SP) and DMK have been clear-headed about the real purpose of the failed Bill and it is expected that they will stand firm in the future too.
"Any support to a new version of the failed Bill, whose real purpose is delimitation, will be a betrayal of their own conscience that guided them in April 2026," he said.
The senior Congress leader further claimed that delimitation under the existing formula would unfairly disadvantage states that had effectively implemented the National Population Policy and controlled population growth.
"States' rights must be fiercely guarded against the rampaging BJP," he said.
The government is expected to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the Monsoon session of Parliament, beginning July 20. The proposed legislation seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and initiate the process of delimitation.
(With inputs from PTI)