Kharge Demands All-Party Meet Over Delimitation
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written a formal letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is demanding an immediate all-party meeting to discuss the government’s revised plans for the Delimitation Bill. The letter comes amid reports that the Union government plans to reintroduce the critical constitutional amendment during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. Kharge emphasized that political parties need sufficient time to thoroughly study the new proposals.
The move follows the failure of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in April, which did not secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. The draft bill proposed increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats up to 850 to implement the women’s reservation quota. Kharge noted that previous requests for all-party discussions sent to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in March and April went unanswered.
The central government is reportedly considering options to increase Lok Sabha seats across all states by 50%. This adjustment aims to address fears in southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Leaders in the south worry that a population-based delimitation could shrink their political representation. The Congress party insists that such major changes require complete political consensus before being tabled.
Top Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, met in Delhi to plan their parliamentary approach. The party clarified that while it supports reserving seats for women, it strongly opposes tying the quota to the controversial delimitation process. Opposition leaders warned they will challenge the legislation if the government tries to push it through without open discussions.
