As Govt seeks support on delimitation, Cong says ‘convene all-party meeting’, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Centre intends to reintroduce a legislative package to operationalize the women's quota law and carry out delimitation.
• This package includes the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was previously defeated in the Lok Sabha in April 2026.
• The Congress party has demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the proposed legislation, a request rejected by the government.
• The previous Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed to fast-track the implementation of 33% women's quota by linking it to a new delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Detailed Insights:

• The government's move follows the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026.
• The defeated bill sought to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Amendment Act, 2023) by enabling delimitation based on the 2011 Census, bypassing the need to wait for a future census.
• The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam mandates one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, but its implementation is contingent on a delimitation exercise following the first census after its enactment.
• The Congress party's demand for an all-party meeting underscores the need for broader political consensus on the sensitive issues of delimitation and women's reservation.
• Delimitation involves redrawing constituency boundaries to ensure equitable representation, a process currently frozen based on the 2001 census for constituency boundaries and 1971 census for seat allocation.
• The government claims to have discussed the matter with various parties, asserting that there were no objections to the bill's core, only concerns about state interests.
• The Samajwadi Party (SP) has denied supporting the Delimitation Bill, maintaining its opposition to redrawing constituency boundaries without significant changes to the previously defeated legislation.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Delimitation: The process of redrawing boundaries of electoral constituencies to ensure equal representation based on population changes, carried out by a Delimitation Commission.
• Women's Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam): The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023, providing for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, contingent on a future delimitation exercise.
• Constitutional Amendment Bill: A legislative proposal to amend the Constitution of India, requiring a special majority for passage in both Houses of Parliament.