The Congress party issued a three-line whip for its Lok Sabha MPs to be present at the special sitting in the House at 11 am from April 16 to 18.
In a notice, the party stated that pivotal issues will be taken up for discussion and voting in the House during the session. It has also asked its MPs to support the party's stance on the Amendment Bill to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
The three-day special session aims to move the Delimitation Bill to implement the one-third reservation for women legislators. Through the delimitation process, the Lok Sabha seats may rise from 543 to 816, post-amendment.
Congress opposes the Delimitation Bill based on the 2011 census, alleging that the southern states will suffer a shrink in their representation in the Lok Sabha.
Notably, earlier in the day, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had expressed that the Centre's proposed legislative agenda for the special sitting of Parliament raises serious concerns over delimitation, which she termed as 'extremely dangerous' and 'an assault on the Constitution'.
She had also posed a serious question on the timing of the special session.
Meanwhile, the three-line whip is the party's strictest directive, instructing members to be present and vote as per the party line, mandating strict adherence. A violation can lead to disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law, as recommended by the party leader to the House’s Presiding Officer.
With inputs from ANI, PTI