Suspended Haryana Congress MLA breaks ranks, backs BJP govt on women’s quota

Defying the Congress boycott, the Ratia legislator attended the special assembly session to criticise his own party leadership and support the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government’s resolution.

Defying the Congress boycott and exposing fractures within its Haryana unit, suspended MLA Jarnail Singh cocked a snook at his leadership on Monday by not only attending the Haryana assembly’s special session but also openly backing the BJP government’s stance on the contentious women’s reservation issue.

Suspended Congress MLA Jarnail Singh defied his party leadership’s boycott call and attended the special session of the Haryana assembly in Chandigarh on Monday. (HT Photo)

The one-day special session began with the opposition benches conspicuously empty. Proceedings commenced with Vande Mataram, a moment underscored by the absence of the main opposition. However, the narrative shifted when Jarnail Singh—one of the five Congress MLAs suspended for alleged cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha elections—briefly attended the opening before a temporary exit.

The session was convened by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini to move a resolution condemning the Congress’s role in the Lok Sabha regarding the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill. This legislation seeks to operationalise a one-third reservation for women—including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes—by linking its implementation to a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census population figures.

While the government frames this as a constitutional necessity, the Congress has labelled the linkage a “delay tactic,” leading to the decision to stay away from the House.

Rebel’s rebuke

An hour after Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced the boycott, Jarnail Singh returned to the House, seeking permission from the Chair to speak in a direct challenge to party orders.

“I fail to understand why my party is opposing women’s reservation. Instead of holding a mock session outside the assembly, Congress leaders should have participated in the debate and presented their viewpoint inside the House,” Jarnail Singh said.

He urged his party to support both the central Bill and the state resolution, appealing to his colleagues to prioritise the quota over parliamentary protests.

After delivering his remarks, the rebel MLA exited the House for a second time, leaving his political future within the Congress further in peril.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill aims to operationalize a one-third reservation for women, including those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, by tying its implementation to a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census—the latest officially published population figures.