Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, called the proposed Constitutional amendment for delimitation an "attempted power grab" through "gerrymandering."
Gandhi's remarks came shortly after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the opposition parties have decided to vote against the Constitution amendment bill for delimitation, on the eve of a special three-day session in Parliament to discuss the women's quota law.
Stressing that the Congress unequivocally supports the 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, Gandhi noted that the women's quota bill was unanimously passed in 2023 and is already part of the Constitution.
"What the government is proposing now has nothing to do with women’s reservation. This amendment is an attempted power grab using delimitation and gerrymandering," Gandhi said in a post on X.
The former Congress president asserted that his party would not allow southern, northeastern, northwestern, and smaller states to be treated unfairly.
"We will not allow ‘Hissa Chori’ from OBC, Dalit and Adivasi communities by ignoring the caste census data. We will also not allow Southern, North Eastern, North Western and smaller states to be treated unfairly," he wrote.
The Budget session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', more commonly known as the Women's Reservation Act, will be brought for its implementation in 2029.
The number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the last published census.
According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced in the upcoming special sitting of Parliament, seats would also be increased in the state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.