Govt Eyes Special Session For Delimitation, Quota Bills

New Delhi: The Centre is planning a special session of Parliament to push through a Constitution amendment Bill linked to the implementation of women's reservation, with government sources expressing confidence that it would secure 15 to 18 votes more than the required majority.

However, no dates or duration have been announced for the proposed session.

The possibility of convening Parliament at short notice remains open as the Monsoon Session, during which both Houses were adjourned sine die on August 13, has not yet been prorogued.

The session has remained unprorogued for 91 days, surpassing the previous record of 87 days set in 2008.

An extended sitting within the existing session requires a minimum notice of two days, while convening a fresh session requires at least 14 days' notice.

The amendment seeks to increase the Lok Sabha's strength from 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation, paving the way for the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislative Assemblies.

The government's renewed push comes after a similar Constitution amendment Bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha during a special sitting of the Budget Session on April 17.

The government is considering increasing the Lok Sabha seats allocated to each state by 50 per cent to address concerns raised by southern states over the delimitation exercise.

It aims to implement women's reservation before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The proposed formula would retain the existing inter-state seat ratios based on the 1971 Census.

However, government sources said this was among several options under consideration and no final decision had been taken.

The Constitution does not prescribe a deadline for proroguing Parliament after its adjournment sine die.

Keeping a session unprorogued for an extended period does not, by itself, constitute any constitutional or procedural violation.

Meanwhile, the Congress attacked Union home minister Amit Shah over the proposed session, accusing him of reviving his "delimitation plantation" and describing him as a "master of bluff and bluster".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that Shah had told journalists that a three-day special session would soon be convened and that the government would secure passage of the Bills by a margin of 15 to 18 votes.

"He had said the same thing seven months earlier but on April 17th faced a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha by a decisive margin, falling short by over 50 votes," Ramesh wrote on X.

"He is the master of bluff and bluster.

His bulldozer did not work then and will not work again," the Congress leader said.