EARLIER DEFEATED AS IT SEEKS TO CLUB BILL WITH DELIMITATION
NEW DELHI, AUG 5 (PTI/AGENCIES): Even as Parliament remained paralysed for the 13th consecutive day, the Centre on Wednesday launched a fresh bid to secure passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures before the 2029 general elections and increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 through a fresh delimitation exercise.
The government has begun reaching out to the principal Opposition party Congress and NDA allies in an effort to build consensus for reintroducing the Bill during the ongoing Monsoon Session, nearly four months after a similar attempt failed due to lack of numbers.
Amid the deadlock, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately met BJP MPs over breakfast.
The government also plans to consult other opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the DMK leadership, on the proposed legislation. Sources said Rijiju’s nearly 50-minute meeting with Gandhi focused on the possible reintroduction of the Bill, but the Congress leader did not commit his party’s support. Under the proposed legislation, the Lok Sabha’s strength would rise to 816 following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census, while seats in state and Union Territory assemblies would also be increased to operationalise the 33% women’s reservation. The government is also considering a provision to increase the existing Lok Sabha seats of every state by 50%, irrespective of population, to address concerns raised by southern states.
Government floor managers are trying to reintroduce the Bill, with certain modifications, next week before the Monsoon Session concludes on August 13.
Oppn marches to Parliament: Opposition MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marched from Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar, demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the alleged police excesses against students, a discussion on the alleged misappropriation of Ram temple donations, and restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
No special session: Rijiju ruled out extending the Monsoon Session or convening a special session later this month, saying no such proposal was under consideration.
He accused the Opposition of deliberately stalling Parliament despite time being allotted for debate and criticised the Congress, CPI and Samajwadi Party for protesting over the alleged Ram temple donation issue inside the Parliament complex.