Parliament Monsoon Session: With only three days left in the Parliament Monsoon Session, the future of significant legislation concerning women’s reservation, delimitation, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) hangs in the balance due to ongoing parliamentary deadlock.
Notably, these bills were absent from the Lok Sabha’s agenda for Monday.
In light of the current dynamics between the NDA and the opposition alliance INDIAN, particularly after the rift between the Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), the DMK has taken the lead in navigating the delimitation process through the House. It is important to highlight that Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP continues to align with the INDIAN coalition.
Amidst the NDA government’s efforts to praise the DMK and NCP-SP, the remaining days of the monsoon session are the most crucial and challenging for the opposition to maintain its unity.
Amidst the ongoing behind-the-scenes activity to muster numbers for the delimitation bill, the DMK has not yet given any clear indication of its stance.
The Delimitation Bill
The Centre has not included the Delimitation Bill on Monday’s agenda for either the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has been continuously trying to pressurise everyone, from the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to the opposition on the issue of delimitation, citing the need to implement women’s reservations.
It’s impossible for the government to pave the way for the delimitation bill without making inroads into the opposition camp. That’s why the government is eyeing the DMK. After the breakup of the alliance with Congress, MK Stalin is now more concerned about his party’s future in Tamil Nadu than national politics, and the NDA government sees hope in this concern.
The current strength of NDA in the LS is nearly 326
Considering the current strength of the ruling party and the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the all-out battle over delimitation appears to be at a crucial juncture. The NDA’s previous tally of 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha has now been augmented by 20 more MPs who broke away from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and joined the NCP. With the addition of six MPs who broke away from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the NDA’s total strength has reached 319.
With the addition of four members of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress and some of the seven independents, the NDA’s tally has surpassed 326. This includes an Akali Dal MP who announced his support for the NDA on the delimitation bill just two days ago. The YSR Congress had supported the NDA in the Lok Sabha on the delimitation bill last April.
350-360 numbers are required for delimitation bill
The government earlier secured the support of only 298 MPs on the Constitutional Amendment Bill related to delimitation, well short of the required two-thirds majority. The Lok Sabha currently has 540 members, and three seats-Naugaon in Assam, Basirhat in Bengal, and Shillong in Meghalaya-are vacant.
Passing the Delimitation Bill requires the support of two-thirds of the MPs present in the House. Therefore, the strength must be at least 350-360 for the government to move forward on this bill. Therefore, it is clear that the role of the 22 DMK MPs is crucial. If the DMK falters, it will not be too difficult for the ruling party to secure four to six MPs.