Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday accused the government of using the implementation of the 33% women’s quota in legislative bodies as a cover for delimitation through the back door and using it for political gains rather than representation, and weakening the Constitution.
Speaking in the Parliament as it reconvened for a three-day special sitting to take up bills to expand the strength of the lower House to implement the 33% women’s quota, he said that the Congress’s demand regarding the matter is the same as in 2023. He added that it should be implemented as per the present strength of the Lok Sabha, independent of delimitation.
He questioned the proposal to increase the Lok Sabha seats to 850, saying it was not based on any government or Parliamentary report. Gogoi said that the government intended to weaponise delimitation for political gain, as was done in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Delimitation Bill, 2026, The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seek to raise Lok Sabha seats and conduct delimitation based on the latest, effectively the 2011 census figures, to roll out the quota from the 2029 general elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Tejaswi Surya lauded the bills as a historic for the rights of women. “The Narendra Modi government is not only going to fast-track the implementation of the quota by 2029, but it is also going to write a new chapter in the development journey of India. For the first time, it is giving the women in the country a vocal, visible, credible, and tangible representation in the national building process.”
{{/usCountry}}Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Tejaswi Surya lauded the bills as a historic for the rights of women. “The Narendra Modi government is not only going to fast-track the implementation of the quota by 2029, but it is also going to write a new chapter in the development journey of India. For the first time, it is giving the women in the country a vocal, visible, credible, and tangible representation in the national building process.”
{{/usCountry}}Surya addressed concerns about states in South India and geographically smaller states losing seats after delimitation. He said that such states could not have gotten a better deal. Surya added that certain members of the Opposition were involved in “systematic misleading and propaganda in the most irresponsible, anarchic fashion” over the last few days to misdirect people in South India.