Cong. Questions Delay In Proroguing Parliament

The Congress on Sunday alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah might still be trying to muster a “super-tainted” two-thirds majority to push through a delimitation-linked constitutional amendment Bill in a special session. It questioned why the Monsoon Session of Parliament had not been formally prorogued even 10 days after both Houses were adjourned sine die.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13, but the formal prorogation notification was still awaited. He said the gap between adjournment and prorogation was generally two to four days, although both had taken place on the same day on several occasions.

“What explains the abnormal delay now? Is the Union home minister still in search of his super-tainted 2/3rd majority to get the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation passed in a Special Session?” Ramesh said in a post on X.

He acknowledged that the Monsoon Sessions of 2015 and 2021 remained unprorogued for 28 and 20 days, respectively, but claimed there were no “diabolical moves” under way at the time. Citing parliamentary procedure, he said prorogation was ordered by the President on the advice of the government.

The delay has fuelled speculation that the government may seek to introduce a constitutional amendment linked to women’s reservation and delimitation without convening a fresh session. An earlier attempt during the Budget Session failed after the government could not secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.

The proposed legislation is linked to implementing women’s reservation before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. It has triggered concern, particularly among southern states, that population-based delimitation could reduce their representation in Parliament.

To address these concerns, the government is reportedly considering a formula under which the number of Lok Sabha seats in all states and Union territories would be increased uniformly by 50 per cent instead of redistributing the existing 543 seats.

Speculation intensified after the Southern Zonal Council meeting in Mahabalipuram on August 21, chaired by Shah. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay urged the Centre to give a legislative assurance that no state would lose its share of parliamentary representation because of successful population stabilisation.

Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar also demanded that the existing strength of 543 Lok Sabha seats be retained for the next 25 years.

The Congress has demanded a 25-year freeze on the present strength and allocation of Lok Sabha seats while seeking the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women from the 2029 elections.

The party termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for Opposition support for delimitation-linked women’s reservation a “drama”, alleging that the government’s priority was “Modi preservation, not women’s reservation”.