The Congress on Tuesday questioned the Modi government’s refusal to convene an all-party meeting on delimitation, asking why it was "stubbornly" unwilling to hear the opposition's concerns in a collective forum.
The party's remark came as a hit out against Union minister Kiren Rijiju over his letter to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also wondered whether the Modi government has a new proposal on delimitation or whether it wants to bring back the defeated bill and make another go at getting it passed with a "super-tainted" two-thirds majority.
The attempt will no doubt fail again, he asserted.
Ramesh posed the queries in a letter to Rijiju, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, after he shot a response to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's letter.
Kharge, the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 16 on delimitation and got a reply from Rijiju on October 19.
Rijiju, in his reply, referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "selective consultations" on delimitation with some political parties in March 2026.
Ramesh claimed that Shah's commitments never made it to the amendment bill and demanded that the government answer three of the party's questions.
"He does not mention that the HM had apparently made some commitments in those consultations that were NOT contained in the Constitution Amendment Bill that was taken up on April 16, 2026. The Bill was deservedly and decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026. Most of the parties that were consulted (according to Kiren Rijiju) had voted AGAINST the Bill," the Congress leader said.
Ramesh said, "Instead of boosting the plantation economy", Rijiju should now answer, "Does the Modi Government have a firm NEW proposal for delimitation that it has discussed with any party?"
He also asked, "Why is the Modi Government stubbornly refusing to call an All-Party meeting on Delimitation, present its NEW proposal in a transparent manner and hear the views of all parties in a collective forum?"
And, "Is it the Modi Government's intention to bring back the defeated Bill and make another attempt to get it passed with a super-tainted two-thirds majority, that will no doubt fail again?"
Ramesh said what Kharge articulated — "four times to the PM and twice to Kiren Rijiju" — in his letters has been the consistent demand of all opposition parties.
The government on Monday asserted that it made consistent efforts for dialogue with the opposition for the passage of the delimitation-linked women reservation bill and what is now required is constructive cooperation from all parties.
Rijiju, in his letter to Kharge, said the government values the participation of all political parties in deliberations and discussions on all matters of national importance and expected Congress to play a constructive role and not obstruct important future legislation.
He also responded to Kharge's point that the House was not prorogued even after an elapse of 64 days since it was adjourned sine die on 13 August.
"... I would like to clarify that there is no constitutional requirement prescribing a specific period within which a House must be prorogued following its adjournment sine die," Rijiju said in his reply.
The minister said that the mere fact that a House has not been prorogued during such an interval does not, by itself, give rise to any constitutional or procedural impropriety or irregularity.
There have been innumerable instances in the past in which Houses remained unprorogued for long periods, extending up to 87 days, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)