Parliament Special Session Begins to Amend Women's Reservation Bill

The government is expected to introduce three amendment Bills aimed at operationalising the legislation, which was passed in 2023 to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Earlier this week, the Central government shared with MPs the text of the Constitution (131 Amendment) Bill, 2026 or the proposed amendment to the Women Reservation Bill, which aims to raise Lok Sabha seats to 850 -- including members from States and Union Territories.

The Bill proposes a cap of 815 on the number of members chosen by direct election from constituencies in the States. For UTs, the Bill says, "Not more than 35 members to represent the Union Territories, chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law provide".

At present, there are 530 Lok Sabha members from States and 20 from UTs. However, a delimitation commission had set the number at 543.

Another key amendment proposed in the Bill is the definition of population, giving Parliament the mandate to decide which data is to be made the foundation for the expansion of the number of seats.

For modifying clause (3) of article 81 of the Constitution, the Bill proposes, "(3) In this article, the expression 'population' means the population as ascertained at such census, as Parliament may by law determine, of which the relevant figures have been published."

The Union Cabinet had recently cleared the Bill seeking to amend the Constitution for early implementation of 33 per cent quota for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies, as well as increasing the number of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The amendment Bill also proposes changes in article 82 to substitute "Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats" with the words "The allocation of seats".

The proposed amendment aims to delink the quota's implementation from the 2027 Census and instead base it on the 2011 Census, enabling its rollout before the 2029 general elections.

In Article 82, the amendment Bill also proposes to introduce a role for the Delimitation Commission. The Bill states that in article 82 (c) of the Constitution, "for the words 'by such authority and in such manner', the words 'in such manner and on the basis of such census, by the Delimitation Commission', shall be substituted". The Bill also talks about reservation of seats on a rotation basis in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies and carries paras related to the tenure for which the women's reservation shall remain in force, subject to extension by Parliament.

Ahead of the special sitting, several political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Congress, have issued a three-line whip directing their MPs in both Houses to be present and adhere to the party's position during the proceedings.

- IANS