NEW DELHI: Amid speculation that the Central government is likely to bring a bill in Parliament next week seeking to delink the women’s reservation act from the delimitation exercise, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju seeking an all-party meeting.
In his letter, Kharge said that an all-party meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, should be convened at the earliest to discuss the “modalities and roadmap for the implementation” of the Women’s Reservation Act.
The move relates to the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, passed by the Parliament in 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. According to the law, women’s reservation will be implemented only after the first Census conducted following the Act’s commencement and the subsequent delimitation exercise. The next delimitation exercise is expected to take place after the 2027 Census, when constituencies will be redrawn based on updated population data.
Responding to a letter by Rijiju to him, Kharge said that the Act, ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, was passed unanimously by Parliament in September 2023.
"Thirty months later, the government is, in your own words, 'seeking an opportunity to interact with me and the senior members of my party to deliberate upon the modalities and roadmap for the implementation of this landmark constitutional amendment'," the Congress president said in his letter to Rijiju on Monday night.
"You spoke with me on this matter a few days back. I have already conveyed to you, as has Jairam Ramesh, chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha, that the INC's view is that the government should convene an all-party meeting where such a roadmap can be discussed with all the opposition parties together," Kharge said.
"I hope that such an all-party meeting, chaired by the prime minister, is convened at the earliest. It would be in keeping with the best traditions of parliamentary democracy," Kharge said.
If the proposal to implement the law even before the delimitation exercise actually materialises, another amendment to the Constitution will be required.
Though the Union Cabinet has not cleared the proposed legislation yet, the government is likely to bring a Bill to amend the law, most probably in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, said sources. This will be introduced in Rajya Sabha first, said sources.
Government sources said feelers have been sent to the opposition to bring them on board to ensure a smooth sailing for the Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament.
TNIE reported last week that key NDA allies such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and JD (U) have indicated that they were not formally consulted on the issue. However, leaders of both parties said they remain firmly in favour of providing 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, irrespective of the procedural debate surrounding delimitation. The parties have always supported greater representation for women in legislatures, said sources.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is part of the opposition INDIA bloc, said the party has long advocated political empowerment of women and believes the quota should be implemented without waiting for the delimitation exercise.
A DMK leader told TNIE that the party believes in the principle of equality in elected bodies and linking the reservation to delimitation could unnecessarily delay the implementation.