A three-day special sitting of an extended Budget session of Parliament will begin today. It will continue till the 18th of this month and will primarily focus on Constitutional Amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. The government will introduce three amendment bills to pave the way for the operationalisation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which was passed in 2023, proposing 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
These three Bills are – the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. The Constitution (Amendment) Bill seeks to further amend the Constitution of India, while the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
The Delimitation Bill provides for the readjustment of the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the States and Union Territories, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and Union Territories and the division of each State and each Union territory having a Legislative Assembly into territorial constituencies for elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of the States and Union territories.
The special sitting has been convened to amend the Constitution so that the Women’s Reservation Act can be implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections after carrying out the delimitation exercise. A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also written to the floor leaders of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, urging all the parties to come together in one voice to pass amendments in this regard. Mr. Modi emphasised that it is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women’s reservation in place. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has also assured that the Women’s Reservation Bill is balanced and takes care of the aspirations of every state, community and region.
Several political parties, including the BJP, JD(U), LJP(R) and Congress, have issued a three-line whip to all its MPs of both Houses to remain present during the proceedings of the House and support their party’s stand.
Meanwhile, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said opposition parties are in favour of the Women’s Reservation Bill but expressed apprehensions about the way in which the Bill is being brought. Briefing media in New Delhi after INDIA bloc meeting, Mr Kharge claimed that the Bill is politically motivated.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said all opposition parties are completely against the provisions of delimitation. He said they will participate in the debate in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and oppose it.
