Congress’ KC Venugopal accused the Centre of bulldozing a ‘deeply flawed’ Delimitation Bill under the ‘garb of women’s reservations’, questioning the timing and use of 2011 census data, which he says will punish states with population control.
‘Devious intentions of a fascist regime’
In a post on X, Venugopal said, “The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill is extremely ill-timed and poses serious questions that the Modi government must answer. Under the garb of bringing forward women’s reservations, the BJP is looking to bulldoze a deeply flawed, unconstitutional and anti-federal delimitation exercise.”
The Alappuzha Lok Sabha MP questioned the Centre’s intentions to move the bill amid the assembly elections in two major states Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, stating that it is a strategy to “punish” the states that managed to control the population. “What was the tearing hurry to introduce this with so little notice? When 2 major states are going into an election, holding a special session for this shows the true devious intentions of this fascist regime. Delimitation fundamentally alters the political future of a state, and using the 2011 census will punish states that made great progress in matters of family planning and development-led population control,” he added.
He highlighted the need for widespread consultation on the Delimitation Bill. “When the 2027 census is about to begin, why is the government keen on using 15-year-old data? There should be widespread consultation before delimitation is rolled out, and this effort to irreversibly, dangerously damage Indian democracy will not be tolerated,” he said.
PM Modi urges consensus for implementation before 2029
The government intends to move a Constitution amendment bill in a special sitting of Parliament from April 16-18 for the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha from 2029 The special sitting of the budget session will discuss amendments to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 and the proposed Delimitation Bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 850.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged all political parties to support the proposed amendment bill, expressing confidence that by 2029, women will have stronger representation and greater rights in legislative bodies “After four decades of anticipation, Parliament passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. This has ensured 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. All parties came forward to support this important law. The rights that women have now received should not face any delay in implementation. It should be implemented now. Lok Sabha elections will be held in 2029, followed by the ongoing state assembly elections. It should be implemented before 2029. This is the sentiment of the nation. This is the desire of Nari Shakti,” he said at an event in Dehradun.
“Let all political parties come together and advance this work concerning the rights of the country’s sisters and daughters with a unanimous consensus,” PM Modi said.
Opposition parties have expressed their concerns about the proposed delimitation bill, alleging that it will limit the representation of the southern states in the Lok Sabha. Opposition parties have also objected to the government’s “rushing” of the bill before the general census.
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