The Centre has renewed efforts to secure parliamentary approval for a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures from 2029 and increase the Lok Sabha's strength to 816 through a fresh delimitation exercise, reaching out to the Congress and NDA allies after a similar attempt failed four months ago.
As part of the outreach, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for nearly 50 minutes to discuss the possible reintroduction of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Gaurav Gogoi and KC Venugopal later joined the meeting. According to sources, Rijiju did not receive any commitment from the Congress.
The government is also expected to consult other opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the DMK leadership, to assess support for the proposed legislation.
The Bill seeks to operationalise the women's reservation law before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections by increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 after a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. It also proposes increasing the strength of state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate the 33 per cent quota for women.
Sources said the government is considering reintroducing the Bill next week, with changes aimed at addressing concerns raised by southern states over the impact of delimitation.
The Monsoon session is scheduled to conclude on August 13.
Rijiju, however, ruled out convening a special session after the Monsoon session. "There is no proposal for any special session from August 16 to 18 to take up the women's reservation and delimitation bills."
A government functionary said the legislation, if reintroduced, would be brought during the ongoing session as there is still a week of parliamentary business remaining.
During his meeting with Rijiju, Gandhi reiterated the Congress' conditions for normal functioning of Parliament. He conveyed that a statement by the Home Minister on police action against students protesting over the NEET paper leak and a discussion on the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya were "non-negotiable" for the House to function, sources said.
This was the second meeting between Rijiju and Gandhi in the past 10 days. The minister had also spoken to the Congress leader over the phone on Tuesday night.
To address concerns over regional representation, the government is learnt to be considering a provision that would increase the existing Lok Sabha seats in every state by 50 per cent, irrespective of population.
The earlier version of the Bill was defeated during a three-day special session held from April 16 to 18 after it failed to secure the constitutionally mandated two-thirds majority. It received 298 votes in favour and 230 against.
The NDA's strength in the Lok Sabha has since risen to 299 following the merger of seven Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. If all 20 NCPI MPs support the Bill, the government could count on 319 votes, still short of the 360 required for a constitutional amendment in the current House.
The DMK, which is no longer part of the INDIA bloc after the Congress joined the TVK government in Tamil Nadu, could emerge as a key player with its 22 Lok Sabha MPs and eight Rajya Sabha members.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said "politically aligned" MPs from Tamil Nadu had discussed the implications of the proposed delimitation.
He said southern states and some others, including Odisha, would be on the "backfoot" due to delimitation as it would hurt their interests.
He also said that a 50 per cent increase in seats would mean delinking population from delimitation, which "may have its own disadvantages".
According to Chidambaram, states that have successfully implemented population control measures and contribute more to the country should not be penalised.
Sources said there is no confirmation yet on whether the Bill will be introduced in the current session, though the government believes it can be readied quickly if sufficient political support is secured.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has continued to disrupt Parliament over the NEET paper leak and the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, demanding a discussion on police action against protesting students and the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.
Since the Monsoon session began on July 20, repeated disruptions have prevented Question Hour from functioning, while five Bills have been passed without discussion amid the din.
(With inputs from PTI)
