NDA floor leaders' meeting begins in Parliament; JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan present
New Delhi, April 17
A meeting of NDA floor leaders began in Parliament on Friday with several senior leaders of the alliance in attendance.
Union Ministers J.P. Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Meghwal and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were present at the meeting, along with BJP National President Nitin Nabin. Among other leaders attending the meeting were Shrikant Shinde, Anupriya Patel, Jayant Chaudhary, H.D. Deve Gowda, M. Thambidurai, Upendra Kushwaha and Dileshwar Kamait.
The Constitution Amendment Bill for the implementation of Women's Reservation from the 2029 general elections was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with the opposition parties voting against it
A Constitution Amendment Bill is passed if it gets the support of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
In the division that took place following the debate on the three bills, 298 members supported the bill while 230 voted against it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the results of the division.
"The Constitution (131st Amendment) Amendment Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House," he said.
Lok Sabha on Friday resumed discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026.
After the Lok Sabha did not pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had no intention to pursue the two other bills.
While motions for the introduction of Constitution Amendment Bills are adopted by a simple majority, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting is required for the adoption of effective clauses and motions for consideration and passing of these Bills.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good to see the NDA floor leaders meeting. Strong coordination is needed for governance. But the failure of the bill is a setback. The opposition voting against it shows they are more interested in blocking than building. The government should try to build a broader consensus.
The arithmetic is clear - 298 for, 230 against. It didn't cross the 2/3rd mark. Rules are rules. But it's worrying that such an important bill for women's representation becomes a casualty of numbers. All parties need to do some soul-searching on this.
As someone following Indian politics, this is a complex situation. The bill failing means the other two bills are also shelved? Seems like a lot of legislative time spent for no result. Hope the meeting of leaders leads to a clearer strategy.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan and JP Nadda present... strong team. But the real story is the bill's defeat. We keep talking about women empowerment, but our Parliament can't pass a bill for it. Shameful for all sides. 🤦♂️
Respectfully, the government must share some blame here. You need to ensure you have the numbers before bringing such a historic bill. Now it's failed, and the entire session's work on the other bills is wasted. Poor floor management, in my opinion.
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