BJP's Tejasvi Surya Lauds PM Modi for Fast-Tracking Women's Quota by 2029

Taking part in the discussion in the Lok Sabha on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at enabling women's reservation and facilitating delimitation, Surya said the women of the nation have been waiting for 30 years to get their due share in participation in the national policy-making process.

"The PM Narendra Modi's government, by the three bills that are now being introduced, is not only going to fast-track the implementation of the women's reservation bill and its applicability from 2029 but also write a new chapter in the development journey of India," he said.

The initiative shall give the Nari Shakti of the country a vocal, visible, credible and tangible representation in the nation-building politics, said the 35-year-old MP who also heads the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

Thanking the PM Modi's government for introducing the three historic bills on behalf of all women of the country, Surya said the proposed legislation will "fast-track and catalyse" the participation of women in politics.

He said the journey of the women's reservation bill, which started in 1996 and is, finally, now seeing fruition, has seen a checkered history.

"At least, a half a dozen times the bill was introduced, and on one pretext or another, it was blocked. The parties which are now in the Opposition delayed, disrupted and ensured that the bill did not see the light of day," said Surya.

Targeting the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bengaluru South MP said, "We still remember, when the bill was introduced in the earlier governments' tenure, a leader from these parties tore the bill in the House and said the women's reservation bill will pass only over his dead body."

"The country remembers this kind of emphatic opposition that they gave to the women's reservation bill at that time," he said, adding that the bill remained stuck for 30 years.

"Today, it is only due to PM Modi and the BJP that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been passed," he said.

Surya also highlighted the benefits of automatic triggering of delimitation after the Census 2027 to redistribute the 543 Lok Sabha seats among states and union territories, which can increase to 850.

Giving an example of Kerala, if the women's quota is implemented without delimitation, Surya said, "In such a scenario, the number of LS seats in Kerala will come down to 14 from 20. And leaders like K.C. Venugopal will not have a seat."

By proposing delimitation, PM Modi is ensuring that the existing seats are not encroached upon and Kerala does not lose out on these six seats, Surya said.

"Kerala will gain 10 seats if a delimitation is triggered soon after the 2027 Census," he said, calling the three bills the best proposal.

He said if any earlier Census is made the basis for implementing the women's reservation, then Kerala may lose 5-6 seats.

- IANS