‘Amendment to women quota law faces delay’

New Delhi: The government is unlikely to immediately bring a Bill to increase Lok Sabha seats to 816 so that 273 of them could be reserved for women in the ongoing Parliament session, which may be adjourned early but will not be prorogued to keep open the option of reconvening after the upcoming round of assembly elections, according to sources.

The sources indicated that there is very little chance of the government tabling the constitution amendment Bill that will tweak the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the women’s reservation law, in Parliament in the next few days.

It is learnt that there was no proposal till Tuesday evening to bring the draft Bill before the Union Cabinet, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday.

“There are requirements of seeking further deliberations with all political parties before finalising a schedule for amending the women’s reservation law,” a source privy to the development said.

Union Home minister Amit Shah had on Monday discussed the matter with some NDA constituents and some non-Congress opposition floor leaders. But consultations with the principal Opposition party, Congress, and another major party, TMC, were yet to take place.

As there have been talks of curtailment of the ongoing Budget session, sources indicated that there is a possibility of adjournment of the Parliament before the April 2 schedule, but Parliament will not be prorogued so that the same session can be reconvened.

It is learnt that the government is exploring the option of reconvening the session after the five assembly elections next month. The results of the polls will be declared on May 4.

However, there was no official word from the government on this.

The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise.

According to the broad contours available, the number of Lok Sabha seats would be increased from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation will also be done in a “vertical basis” with seats allocated for SCs and STs.

The redrawing of the constituencies will be done on the basis of the 2011 census rather than the proposed 2027 census.

A similar exercise will be carried out for state assemblies, where seats will be reserved on a pro-rata basis.