Special session of Parliament held in Lok Sabha: 251 in favor, 185 against the Constitutional Bill to adjust the women’s quota law
New Delhi: The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Women’s Reservation Act, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, with 251 lawmakers supporting the move and 185 opposing it.The bill, which aims to implement reservation rights for women ahead of the 2029 general elections, was tabled along with two general pieces of legislation, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill. The proposed measures seek to implement the revised quota framework in Delhi, pondicherry and Jammu and Kashmir, while a new delimitation process was also established.There was a heated debate in the House that lasted for 40 minutes, with the opposition parties strongly objecting to linking women’s reservation with delimitation and proposals to expand seats in the Lok Sabha.According to the draft bill circulated among members, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha will be increased from the current 543 seats to a maximum of 850 after the delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census. Seats in state assemblies and Union Territory Legislatures will also be increased to accommodate the 33% reserved seats for women.The bill also proposes that seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and Parliament “shall be allotted to different constituencies in the state or union territory on a rotational basis”.Congress leader KC Venugopal questioned why the proposed changes were not included when the original women’s reservation law was passed in 2023. “The bills to adjust the women’s quota law and set up delimitation panels are anti-constitutional,” he said.General Secretary of Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav Questions were also raised about the urgency behind the move. “We support quotas for women in the legislature, but why not a census?” he asked.Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave a sharp response, saying that the 2027 census process is on and the government has also decided to conduct a caste census. He also maintained that reservations based on religion were “unconstitutional”.DMK MPs entered the House dressed in black to protest against the amendment. DMK leader TR Baalu said, “We are in favor of the Women’s Quota Act 2023, but the current bill seeks to draw a line.”RSP MP NK Premachandran opposed the amendment, saying the purpose was not for reservation but for delimitation.Venugopal also believed that constitutional amendments should not be discussed along with ordinary bills. Shah rejected the objection, while Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla cited precedent to allow joint discussions, noting that the bills dealt with the same subject.Several opposition parties had earlier decided to vote together against delimitation-related provisions while reiterating their support for reservation for women in the legislature.
