NEW DELHI: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Opposition parties to support the proposed delimitation-linked women’s reservation legislation, the Congress on Sunday accused him of indulging in “drama” and demanded that the 33% quota be implemented on the existing strength of the Lower House of Parliament for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh questioned the government’s intentions, saying Modi should stop “sermonising” from the Red Fort and instead act on women’s reservation immediately.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s Independence Day appeal, Ramesh said the issue needed to be viewed in its historical context. He pointed to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments passed in 1993, which provided one-third reservation for women in panchayats, zilla parishads, block panchayats and municipalities.
Ramesh credited former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with laying the groundwork for women’s political representation at the grassroots level and bringing the provision into the constitutional framework.
He also recalled the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, saying it was passed unanimously and that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had demanded its immediate implementation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
According to Ramesh, the Congress and other opposition parties have repeatedly urged the government to implement the 33 percent quota based on the existing 543-member Lok Sabha. That would mean reserving 182 seats for women.
He alleged that the government’s decision to notify the 2023 law late on April 16, 2026, while Parliament was debating delimitation, demonstrated its intention to tie women’s reservation to the exercise.
