Centre to Reintroduce Delimitation, Women’s Quota Bills
Government steps up outreach to parties ahead of Monsoon Session to secure support for key constitutional amendments
- Centre to reintroduce Delimitation and Women’s Reservation Bills.
- NDA begins consultations to build two-thirds majority.
- Government explores uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats.
- Focus remains on delimitation; One Nation, One Election put on hold.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 17th July: The Centre is set to reintroduce the Delimitation Bill and the Women’s Reservation Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, as it intensifies efforts to secure the two-thirds majority required for the proposed constitutional amendments.
According to sources, the decision was taken at a high-level meeting held at Kartavya Bhavan on Friday. The government has begun fresh consultations with political parties after the Delimitation Bill failed to secure the required support during the Budget Session in April.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of NDA ministers to finalise the coalition’s parliamentary strategy. Ministers have reportedly been assigned specific responsibilities to engage with opposition parties and build consensus on the two Bills.
Sources said the government is considering introducing a revised Delimitation Bill with an assurance of a uniform 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats across all states, a demand raised by several opposition parties during the earlier debate.
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule confirmed that the Centre has held discussions with her party, the Congress and the DMK on the proposal. She said her party would consider supporting the Bill if the provision for a 50 per cent increase in seats is incorporated into the legislation.
The government is currently prioritising the Delimitation Bill, while the proposed One Nation, One Election legislation has been placed on the back burner as efforts focus on securing the numbers required for the constitutional amendment.
In the 543-member Lok Sabha, the effective strength has come down to 540 due to three vacancies, reducing the two-thirds majority mark to 360. The NDA currently has the support of 293 MPs, and with the backing of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs and six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, its strength is expected to rise to 319, according to sources.
Political attention is also focused on the 22 DMK MPs and eight NCP (SP) MPs, whose support could significantly improve the government’s chances of passing the Bill. DMK president M.K. Stalin has reportedly indicated that the party will decide its position after examining the final version of the legislation.
The Monsoon Session is expected to witness intense political negotiations as the government seeks broader opposition support for the two key constitutional reform measures.
