Congress Ensures INDIA Bloc Presence for Key Women's Reservation Bill Vote

Earlier today, INDIA bloc MPs held a meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament at 10 am on Friday to chalk out the strategy for the Floor of the House.

According to the list of business, Lok Sabha is set to vote on the passing of the Constitutional amendments and the Delimitation bill, 2026.

The Congress has issued a three-line whip for its MPs in the Lok Sabha to be present in the House for the special sitting from April 16 to 18 and support the party's stand.

Lok Sabha is continuing its discussion on the passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them up to 850.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss the amendments to the women's reservation bill, which removes the need to implement the bill only after the census is conducted.

As per the final division, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of the total 333 votes. With the 251 AYES majority, all three Bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Delimitation, the process of redrawing and rearranging the constituencies, typically happens every 10 years following the completion of the Census, as is detailed in Article 82 and clause (3) of article 170 of the Constitution. In 2001, the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001 froze the allocation of seats to the House of People and legislative assembly on the basis of 1971 census, and only allowing delimitation post the 2026 census.

Opposition MPs raised concern over the constitutional amendment, to conduct the delimitation and increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 850, based on the 2011 census. The opposition alleged that the proposed legislation would shrink the representation of southern states in the House.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged the Centre to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserving one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha, on the basis of the current 543 seats. KC Venugopal referred to the Bills as a move to "sabotage democracy."

Union Minister Amit Shah assured that the representation of the southern states would not be affected by delimitation.

Presenting numbers, Shah noted, "If we listen to the entire narrative created for the South, then out of the 543 seats created by you, 129 MPs currently sit in this House, which is approximately 23.76 per cent. In the new House, 195 MPs will be sitting here, and their power will be 23.97 per cent."

- ANI