HYDERABAD: Stating that women’s reservation and delimitation are constitutional processes and not political ones, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy said Parliament will discuss constitutional amendments to implement 33% reservation on April 16, 17 and 18.
Addressing the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Kishan said both women’s reservation and delimitation are constitutional processes and not political decisions. He said the bill, introduced under the leadership of Narendra Modi, aims to ensure representation for women, who constitute nearly half the population. He noted that the demand for reservation has existed for over 50 years and that the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010 but not implemented.
On delimitation, Kishan said the process will be carried out in accordance with constitutional provisions and is not driven by any single party. Criticising remarks by opposition leaders, including the DMK and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, he alleged attempts to create apprehension among the public. Kishan termed Congress criticism of the proposal as “unfortunate”.
Addressing concerns over southern states being disadvantaged due to population differences, he said a balanced approach would be adopted to ensure no state is treated unfairly. Additional seats, he said, would be created while maintaining proportional balance.
Responding to Revanth’s remarks, Kishan termed them baseless and accused the Congress of historically sidelining Telugu leaders. He also rejected proposals such as a “hybrid model” for seat allocation based on population and economic indicators, calling them impractical.
Kishan said representation cannot be determined solely on economic parameters and stressed that decisions on increasing seats must ensure balanced regional development.
He accused the Congress of politicising the issue instead of engaging in constructive debate, adding that such matters should be handled in line with the Constitution framed by BR Ambedkar.