The government has begun reaching out to Opposition parties for a consensus on delinking the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam or the 128th Constitution (Amendment) Act, reserving a third of seats for women in national and state legislatures, from the condition that it will come into effect after delimitation and the census. The amendment is expected to be introduced during the ongoing Budget session of Parliament that ends on April 2.
On Monday, Union home minister Amit Shah met leaders of the Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress Party, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, Shiv Sena (UT), and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen to discuss the proposed amendment, people aware of the matter said.
If the amendment is passed, the process of reserving seats for women will take off before the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
HT this month reported that it is being explored whether a lottery system could be introduced to decide one-third of constituencies that could be reserved for women.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, have suggested delinking the reservation process from delimitation and census. They demanded that the law be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha election. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had questioned the government’s intent and claimed that the delay in implementing the reservation defeats its purpose.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in Parliament in September 2023 during a special session. It was the first legislation passed in the new Parliament building.
{{/usCountry}}The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in Parliament in September 2023 during a special session. It was the first legislation passed in the new Parliament building.
{{/usCountry}}The delimitation process is frozen until after the census, which will begin in April and be conducted digitally in two phases—houselisting and population enumeration (2027).