Parliament highlights: Women's quota bill falls flat in the Lok Sabha test as it fails to get special majority

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji questioned the timing of holding a special session on the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill.

The JMM MP raised concerns about whether the move is a political stunt, noting that the bill was already passed by Parliament in 2023.

"Why was this special session held? It is already declared that the women's reservation bill will be implemented...Is it a political stunt...we want to know.....Bengal and Tamil Nadu elections are going on, and many leaders are not able to come here..." Maji told reporters on Friday.

Parliament special session LIVE: Congress defends Rahul Gandhi's jibe on PM Modi.

"It is surprising that whenever the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, speaks, the government interrupts, and now they want to remove his speeches as well. He told a story of a magician... Why is the government linking this to the Prime Minister, while Rahul Gandhi only narrated a story of a magician? Why do they start connecting everything to PM Modi?... They do not want Rahul Gandhi to speak in Parliament," Congress MP Manickam Tagore said.

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut reacted to Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha, saying, "It was such a headache to listen to him. He is going through his childhood traumas. It was a nuisance. The Chair also asked him to stop. He has made a mockery of the Parliament."

BJP candidate for the Nandigram & Bhabanipur Assembly Constituencies, Suvendu Adhikari, on Friday strongly reacted to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation that the BJP is attempting a "division of Bengal" under the guise of delimitation.

Speaking to ANI, Adhikari alleged that, whether it is the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA) or the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Mamata has opposed almost everything.

"All of this is anti-national and against the Constitution. Whether it is CAA, NRC, or SIR, they have objections to everything. This will not be accepted. If you want to live in this country, you must abide by the Constitution," Adhikari said.

Earlier, on April 14, TMC candidate against Suvendu Adhikari on the Bhabanipur seat, Mamata Banerjee claimed the Delimitation Bill will divide Bengal.

"Their revenge will be in the box of democracy. This very month, the Delimitation Bill is being brought. It will cut you into pieces. It will divide Bengal. Then it will do NRC," she said.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha is continuing its discussion and vote on the passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them to 850.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to MPs over the Women’s Reservation Bill.

“An appeal from PM @narendramodi calling all to come together to empower women by supporting the bills before the Lok Sabha: “If this amendment is passed unanimously, it will further empower the women of our country and strengthen our democracy.

Let us come together today to create history,” she wrote on X.

In a friendly banter, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he didn't have "the wife issue", as the Congress MP emphasised that everyone has learnt from women in their lives.

Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced to amend the women's quota law and to set up a delimitation commission, Gandhi said women are a driving force in the national imagination and perspective.

"All of us in this room have been influenced, taught, and have learnt a lot from women in our lives – from mothers, sisters, wives," Gandhi said.

"Of course, the prime minister and myself don't have the wife issue, so we don't get that input, but we have our mothers and sisters," he said while referring to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's light-hearted remark that he got a scolding at home as he did not pen a poem for his wife like Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal did.

Gandhi also lauded his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has opposed the delimitation bill, alleging that the centre wants to carry it out “under the guise of women's reservation”.

"They want to carry out delimitation under the guise of women's reservation. By bringing amendments, they want to end the census forever, which was necessary for delimitation. In a fabricated manner, they want to change the map of the country... You are not just changing the map but also altering the power equations... and they have no answer to any of these things," she said.

On his "magician" remark, Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi says, "It is a puzzle, I won't tell the answer just like that. If I find the solution, I will tell you this is it."

BJP MP Hema Malini reacted to Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha, saying, "All I can say is that it was entertaining, but there was nothing concrete in it... Calling the Prime Minister a magician is not right. It is unparliamentary."

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has opposed the delimitation bill.

"They should withdraw the bill. It creates concern among the people. During the late-night session, they pushed it through... Now, what they will do next, only God knows. But the truth is that people are anxious, they feel this is wrong, completely wrong. May God grant them the wisdom to listen to the people’s voice," he said.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law in Parliament as a front for the Delimitation Bill that would "break the country into pieces".

The TMC will fight this Central government's move at every step, she asserted at her party's poll rally here.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law, along with the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, to implement the proposed amended women's quota law in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

According to the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

Opposing the Centre's move, Banerjee alleged that "the BJP brought the Delimitation Bill while keeping the women's reservation bill at the front".

"The BJP is trying to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to nearly 850 through the Delimitation Bill. It will break the country into pieces," the TMC supremo said.

Accusing the NDA government at the Centre of resorting to "illegality" in introducing the bills, Banerjee said, "As a former MP, I know that without a two-thirds majority, a Constitution Amendment bill cannot be passed."

The TMC chief informed the gathering at the Cooch Behar rally that she has been informed by her MPs that an attempt was being made to pass the Bills with a simple majority.

Maintaining that her party already has 37 per cent women MPs, she asked the BJP to emulate this and ensure its women candidates win this state assembly election.

Rajnath Singh has condemned Rahul Gandhi's “magician” jibe on PM Modi and demanded an apology.

Rahul Gandhi says the “magician of Balakot” has been caught.

Rahul Gandhi gives “assurance” to southern states.

“I want to assure southern, northeastern, smaller states that we will not allow govt to touch your representation in Union of India,” Rahul said.

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the government's act was “nothing short of anti-national act”.

“We won't allow you to do it, entire opposition will defeat this,” he said.

Ruckus continues in Lok Sabha as Rahul Gandhi continues to oppose delimitation.

Kiren Rijiju traded barbs with Rahul Gandhi, saying his father Rajiv Gandhi opposed OBC reservation.

Rahul Gandhi has said that government was trying to make sure caste census has nothing to do with representation for next 15 years.

Ruckus erupts in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi says BJP doesn't give OBCs and Dalits any place in power structure of the country.

Rahul Gandhi has said that the bill under consideration for delimitation is an attempt to change country's electoral map; using and hiding behind India's women.

Women are a driving force in our national perspective: LoP Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi remembers lesson of courage he got from his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi is currently speaking in Lok Sabha on the proposed amendments to the Women's reservation.

"I would say to all the Members of Parliament…Keeping in mind the memory of your mother, sister, daughter, wife in your home, listen to your conscience…This is a great opportunity to serve the women power of the country, to honor them. Do not deprive them of new opportunities.

This amendment will be passed by consensus, and the women power of the country will become even more empowered... the democracy of the country will become even more empowered.

Come... let us together create history today. Give the women of India... the country's half population their rightful due." - PM Modi on X.