Congress on Women's Reservation: Sonia Gandhi states,

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has offered a brief reaction regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill and the proposed Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha. She stated, “My party has already clarified its stance; I have nothing further to add.”

Three bills—pertaining to amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act and the constitution of a Delimitation Commission—were introduced in the Lok Sabha, triggering a massive uproar within the House. The Opposition registered a strong protest against these proposed bills, terming them unconstitutional. Union Ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Amit Shah introduced these bills.

Opposition to Unitedly Oppose the Delimitation Bill: Kharge

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the Opposition would unitedly oppose the Delimitation Bill. Writing on the social media platform ‘X’, Kharge asserted that the Opposition would not allow Parliament to be hijacked through flawed delimitation bills and would fight with full force against this assault on democracy.

Congress Fully Supports Women’s Reservation

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Central Government regarding this issue on Wednesday. He affirmed that the Congress party fully supports women’s reservation, noting that the bill had already been unanimously passed by Parliament in 2023 and has become an integral part of the Constitution.

Serious Allegations Leveled Against Current Proposal

Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government’s current proposal is not genuinely about women’s reservation, but rather an attempt to consolidate power through delimitation and gerrymandering. Gerrymandering refers to the deliberate manipulation of electoral constituency boundaries with the specific objective of providing an unfair advantage to a particular political party or group.

Caste Census Data Ignored: Rahul

He asserted that Congress would not allow any dilution of the rightful share belonging to OBC, Dalit, and Adivasi communities, and would oppose the disregard shown toward the caste census data. Furthermore, he issued a stern warning that any form of discrimination against the Southern, Northeastern, and Northwestern regions, as well as smaller states, would not be tolerated.

What Does the Proposed Bill Contain? According to the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill, the number of Lok Sabha seats could be increased from 543 to a maximum of 850 following delimitation prior to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, in order to implement women’s reservation. Additionally, provisions have been made to increase the number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies of states and Union Territories to ensure a 33 percent reservation for women. The Bill further stipulates that the seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies will be allocated across different constituencies on a rotational basis.