The Congress on Friday (April 17) claimed a major political victory after aConstitution amendment billlinking women’s reservation to delimitation was defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and federalism. The bill, which sought to implement reservation for women in legislatures from 2029 while also increasing Lok Sabha seats, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. While 298 members voted in favour, 230 opposed it, falling short of the 352 votes needed.
Several opposition leaders framed the development as a rejection of the government’s approach.Rahul Gandhisaid, “They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution.” Congress whip Manickam Tagore added, “We have defeated arrogance.”
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused PM Narendra Modi of attempting to link women’s reservation with delimitation based on the 2011 Census. “But his hollow attempt to pose as messiah of women has failed today,” she said, warning that democracy would not have survived had the bills passed.
Akhilesh Yadav termed it a defeat of the BJP’s intent, while RSP MP N K Premachandran said, "This defeat is not of women's quota, but of delimitation by the backdoor."
CPI MP Sandosh Kumar drew parallels with past protests, saying, “This defeat is similar to what we saw during the farmers’ movement, when people’s unity forced the govt to repeal the farm laws.”
DMK chief M K Stalin reiterated concerns over delimitation, stating it “requires careful thought to ensure it is fair, especially for southern states”, and urged the Centre to delink it from women’s reservation.
A screen shows the bifurcation of votes on the women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha during the Special session of Parliament
The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. Seats were also to be increased in states and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
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