Parliament set to witness Govt-Oppn Face-offover Women’s quota, delimitation from today

Opposition to unitedly oppose Constitution Amendment Bill: Kharge.

PTI, April 15, 2026, New Delhi: Battle lines have been drawn between the Union government and the Opposition over the women's quota and delimitation Bills that will be taken up during the special Parliament sitting this week, with the Congress questioning the intent behind the move and the BJP accusing it of failing women in the past.

In a letter to the women of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asserted that Indian democracy will become stronger and more vibrant if elections to the Lok Sabha and the various assemblies in 2029 are held with women's quota fully in place. Modi said that when women become active participants in policy and decision-making, the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat' is strengthened.

Several Opposition parties have decided to unitedly vote against the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment Bill in Parliament, while asserting that they are not against womens' reservation but opposed to the manner in which the bill is being brought, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday.

The leaders of several constituents of the INDIA bloc, besides the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), met at Kharge's residence here on Wednesday to evolve a joint strategy during the three-day special sitting of Parliament starting Thursday, during which the women reservation bill, along with the Constitution amendment Bill, will be taken up for consideration and passage.

"All of us are in favour of the women reservation Bill, but have reservations on the way in which it is being brought. It is politically motivated. Just to gag and suppress Opposition parties, the government is doing this.

We are continuously supporting women's reservation. We are insisting that an earlier amendment that was passed be implemented. They (the BJP-led government) are playing tricks with delimitation. Therefore, all parties have taken a decision unitedly to oppose this Bill," Kharge said after the meeting.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the manner in which the Delimitation Commission is functioning, "it is clear that it has become a tool to win majority for the ruling party". "We are totally against the delimitation move. Women's reservation should be implemented, but we are totally against delimitation," Ramesh said.

Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the other leaders at the meeting included DMK's T R Baalu, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool Congress's Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, and NCP-SCP's Supriya Sule, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joining virtually. CPI leader Annie Raja, CPI-M's Nilotpal Basu, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Independent MP Kapil Sibal, IUML's E T Mohammed Bashir and RSP's N K Premachandran also attended the meeting, other than Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Ramesh.

Rahul on Wednesday alleged that the government's proposed amendments to the Constitution constitute an "attempted power grab" through the use of delimitation and gerrymandering. He emphasised that his party would not permit southern, northeastern, northwestern, and smaller states to be treated unfairly.

On the eve of a special three-day session of Parliament, during which Bills related to the women's quota law and delimitation will be discussed, Rahul reaffirmed that the Congress party fully supports women's reservation. He noted that Parliament unanimously passed a bill for this purpose in 2023, which is already part of the Constitution.

"What the government is proposing now has nothing to do with women's reservation. This amendment is an attempted power grab using delimitation and gerrymandering," he said on X. "We will not allow 'Hissa Chori' from OBC, Dalit and Adivasi communities by ignoring the caste census data. We will also not allow Southern, North Eastern, North Western and smaller states to be treated unfairly," the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

The special three-day sitting of Parliament will be held from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the Women's Reservation Act, mandating 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, will be brought for implementation in 2029.