Parliament special session: Voting on 3 key bills in Lok Sabha to be held at 4 PM on Friday
New Delhi, April 16
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said that discussion on the three key Bills will be held for 15-18 hours, with voting scheduled at 4 pm on Friday, as the House set the timetable for deliberations during the special session of Parliament.
In the house, Speaker Birla said, "Discussion on these three bills will be held for 15-18 hours. Voting on these bills will be done at 4 pm tomorrow."
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said in the Lok Sabha that the discussion on the key Bills would be held for 12 hours, while asserting that the Speaker should have the authority to extend the duration of debate, and confirmed that voting on the Bills will take place tomorrow.
Rijiju said, "The discussion will be held for 12 hours. The speaker should have the authority to extend the time for discussion. The voting on the bills will be done tomorrow."
Further, Congress MP KC Venugopal objected to the clubbing of key Bills in the Lok Sabha, stating that it is not a good parliamentary practice and warning that it could have consequences, as he questioned the purpose of proceeding if the Constitution Amendment Bill is likely to be defeated.
Venugopal said, "Here, one is the Constitution Amendment Bill and the other two are now. Clubbing will not be a good practice. There are consequences. When the Constitution Amendment Bill is going to be defeated, what is the point?"
Union Home Minister Amit Shah defended the introduction of multiple Bills together in the Lok Sabha, stating that Constitutional amendments and other related legislative changes require separate voting procedures,.
He said that the accompanying Bills are necessary to give effect to the women's reservation proposal in a structured manner.
"When there is a constitutional amendment, the votes are different compared to an amendment to a law... After the Bill on the Constitution amendment, to take the women's reservation to its logical end, we need the other two Bills. Hence, they have been introduced together. The discussion is all on the same topic. This has happened many times in the past as well. The opposition has decided to oppose everything," Shah said in the house.
The Constitution (131 Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 were introduced in the Lok Sabha today after the Opposition pressed for a division against the move to introduce three Bills, instead of a voice vote.
As per the final division, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of the total 333 votes.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I agree with KC Venugopal. Clubbing bills, especially a Constitution Amendment with others, sets a dangerous precedent. It seems like a tactic to rush things. Parliament should debate each major bill properly, not in a bundled hurry.
The process seems a bit confusing to a common citizen like me. Why introduce three together if voting is separate? But if Amit Shah ji says it's needed to implement women's reservation effectively, I'm willing to trust the process. Hope it benefits the nation.
Watching from abroad. The division numbers (251-185) show a clear majority, but also significant opposition. Healthy democracy needs robust debate, not just rushing to a vote. Hope the 12+ hours of discussion are substantive.
Special sessions should be for national emergencies or critical issues. Is this that urgent? Feels more like political timing. That said, women's reservation is a welcome step, long overdue. Just wish the politics around it was cleaner.
As a young woman, I'm thrilled this is finally happening! 🎉 The Delimitation Bill and UT bill might be technical, but if they are necessary to make the 33% reservation a reality on the ground, then so be it. Let's get it passed!
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.