Nagaland BJP mahila morcha blames opposition for stalling women’s quota

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mahila morcha has alleged that the delay in implementing 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies was due to obstruction by the Congress and other opposition parties.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here on Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Phangnon Konyak said the Centre had introduced three key Bills in the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2026 — the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Delimitation Bill, 2026; and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — to facilitate early implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Act).
Konyak stated that although the Women’s Reservation law was passed in 2023, its implementation was linked to the completion of delimitation and the Census.
She said the new Bills were intended to ease this process for earlier rollout. However, Konyak said the Bills could not be passed due to lack of support.
She explained that the proposal included a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats across all States and Union Territories instead of mere redistribution based on population. She said this would raise the current strength of 543 members to around 815–850 seats.
Highlighting India’s population growth from 54 crore in 1971 to over 1.4 billion now, MP stressed the need for better representation. Dismissing concerns regarding smaller States losing seats, Konyak said that a uniform expansion would benefit all, including Nagaland, which currently has only one Lok Sabha seat.
She also clarified that Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reservations would increase proportionately with the rise in total seats.
On the failure to pass the Bills, Konyak expressed regret and noted that women in Nagaland have waited over five decades since statehood for adequate representation in the Assembly, with only two women MLAs elected in the last polls.
BJP national vice president and MarCoFed chairman M. Chuba Ao, who also addressed the press conference, accused the opposition INDIA alliance of deliberately withholding the required two-thirds majority for the constitutional amendment.
He termed it a “calculated move” and reaffirmed the NDA government’s commitment to securing 33% reservation for women.
Ao asserted that BJP would continue to push the issue both inside Parliament and outside until women receive their due representation, emphasising that “Nari Shakti” is a national resolve.