New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) As the government circulated bills related to women’s quota law and delimitation, the Congress on Tuesday said when the intent behind a bill is “mischievous” and the content of it is “devious”, the extent of damage to parliamentary democracy is enormous.
Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the last published census.
According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced in the upcoming special sitting of Parliament, seats would also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “When the intent behind a Bill is mischievous, and the content of it is devious, the extent of damage to parliamentary democracy is enormous.” The seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a state or Union territory,” the bill circulated among Lok Sabha members said.
Besides other provisions, the bill seeks to amend Article 81 of the Constitution.
It states that “The House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall consist of not more than 815 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the states; and not more than 35 members to represent the Union territories, chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law provide.” The expression “population”, according to the bill, means the population as ascertained at such census, “as Parliament may by law determine”, of which the relevant figures have been published.
As of now, figures of the 2011 Census are available, while the 2027 Census exercise, which began on April 1, is ongoing.
The government plans to bring a Constitution amendment bill, a bill on delimitation law and an enabling bill to apply the proposed law in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry — three Union territories with legislature — on Thursday in Lok Sabha to fast-track implementation of the women’s reservation Act of 2023.
In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘ Women’s Reservation Act, commonly known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, marking a significant step towards enhancing women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The Act provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies.
The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, more commonly known as the Women Reservation Act, will be brought for its implementation in 2029.
While elections in Puducherry, Assam and Kerala were held on April 9, polls in West Bengal would be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
In Tamil Nadu, polls will be held in a single phase on April 23. PTI ASK RHL
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