Parliament special session highlights: ‘India’s daughters will forever be grateful to PM Modi,' says Kangana Ranaut

The live updates to the blog are closed.

Parliament special session LIVE: Lok Sabha proceedings have been adjourned till 11 AM.

Parliament special session LIVE: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya says, "My statement is being taken out of context, being twisted with a malicious intent. I intend to expose how the Congress party, in particular, has tried to sabotage the Telangana movement. More than 1,200 people died by suicide. More than 300 people died by firing. This is the legacy of the Congress party. I have absolute respect for the martyrs of the Telangana movement. I want to pay my respects to them..."

Parliament special session LIVE: Lok Sabha proceedings were extended to enable more women members to participate in the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Parliament special session LIVE: The Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, providing 33 per cent quota for women in legislatures, came into force on Thursday following a notification by the Union Law Ministry.

It remains unclear why the law was brought into force from April 16, amid an ongoing parliamentary debate on amending it for implementation in 2029. An official cited “technicalities” for the move without elaborating, PTI reported

Parliament special session LIVE: Speaking in the Lok Sabha on, AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi says, “If these three bills become law, the opposition's voice will be reduced to nothing in this House. If you read this Constitution Amendment Bill along with the Delimitation Bill, seats will be allocated based on population,” he said.

"Those with larger populations will receive more seats, those with smaller populations will receive fewer. Delimitation will not happen every 10 years. It will not be based on the census. Rather, the government will decide whether or not delimitation will happen... The reality will be that the north will rule over the south, the north will spend, and the south will provide. The southern states account for 30 per cent of the country's GDP, and 21 per cent of the country's tax revenue comes from the south... The south is being punished for good governance..."

Parliament special session LIVE: JD(U) MP Lovely Anand said on women's reservation bill, “A powerful resolution to restore the dignity, rights, and leadership of half of India’s half population (women).”

Parliament special session LIVE: Congress leader and member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a light-hearted banter with home minister Amit Shah on the treasury bench across her, took a jibe at the minister, saying that even Chanakya would be "shocked" by his “political scheming”.

While speaking during the ongoing special session of Lok Sabha to discuss the three three bills that seek to increase the seats from the existing 543 to 850 and ensure one-third women representation in the lower house, Priyanka said that the bills are a means for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to retain power.

“The current government is once again trying to deceive the nation, launching a major attack on the country’s integrity. On one hand, it speaks at length about women’s empowerment, while on the other, it is quietly taking away the rights of OBCs and weakening some states. By undermining India's democracy, it is building a framework to strengthen its party ahead of the next elections,” Priyanka said when she caught Amit Shah smiling from the bend across the Lok Sabha.

Addressing that and breaking into a smile herself, she says, “the home minister is laughing, their entire plan is ready".

“If Chanakya was alive, he would be shocked by your political scheming,” she said, as the entire house burst into a light laughter.

Parliament special session LIVE: Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut showered big praises on PM Modi during the speacial session of Lok Sabha, saying that there is “no bigger feminist” than him.

“Today, the daughters of India believe that there is no bigger feminist than the Prime Minister. He is the true flag bearer of feminism. And the daughters of this country will always remain grateful to him. We will forever be thankful for the faith he has shown in the women of India,” she said.

Parliament special session LIVE: Gaurav Gogoi said that the proposal put forward by Congress and major opposition parties is “simple”-

1) Implement Women’s Reservation unconditionally without waiting for updated national census or seat delimitation.

2) Expedite the work of national census and ensure accurate representation of major and minor communities especially OBC, SC, ST.

3) Build a national consensus on delimitation so that our nation’s integrity and its federal character is strengthened.

“The BJP should stop being over smart and mix up all three major issues. Stop trying to bulldoze an unfair delimitation and delay the caste census in the garb of women’s reservation,” he wrote on X.

Parliament special session LIVE: On women reservation bill, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "I just want to say that we don't have any problem with women reservation, they can do it immediately, but why delimitation is being included, this is our question, because there are many issues related to delimitation, a long discussion is required, but they want to wind up in 2-3 days, this is not possible, southern states have big questions, if the government wants this women reservation, they could have done it in 2023, they should do it now, we will support..."

Parliament special session LIVE: Addressing the concerns that the bill is being brought amid the state assembly polls, home minister Amit Shah said, “There is a statement being made that elections are taking place in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and that a new Act has been brought in. That is not correct. Let me clearly state that the Delimitation Commission’s report will come into effect only when it is accepted by Parliament and receives the approval of the President. Therefore, there is no question of it being implemented before 2029. Even the elections up to 2029 will be conducted under the existing system and existing constituencies. So there is no need for Akhilesh ji (Yadav) to be worried.”

Parliament special session LIVE: While responding to the Opposition's claim that the way women quota bill is being presented and its implications may harm the democracy of the country, home minister Amit Shah said, “About the question of ending democracy, I say as a BJP worker and an MP that no one has the power to end democracy in this country. Those who tried during the Emergency were rejected by the people; democracy remained unharm”.

Parliament special session LIVE: After Priyanka Gandhi's speech, home minister Amit Shah sought to issue clarification on the numbers of seats each state will have after the Lok Sabha seats will be increased.

Parliament special session LIVE: "I want to tell PM Modi that if he was talking this historic step with honesty, then the entire Parliament would have supported it unanimously," said Priyanka Gandhi.

She added, “If PM Modi really respected women, he would not use them for political gains. This is against your post and your duty.”

Parliament special session LIVE: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, which emphasising on the history of the women reservation bill, said in Lok Sabha, “Motilal Nehru Ji prepared a report in the year 1928, which he submitted to the Congress Party's working committee. Motilal Nehru Ji was the chairman of a committee, and at that time, he prepared a list of 19 fundamental rights.”

“In 1931, under the chairmanship of Sardar Patel Ji, the Karachi session was held, in which this resolution was passed. It was here that the issue of equal rights for women was included in India's politics. At the same time, the principle of 'One Vote, One Citizen, One Value' was implemented in our politics. Due to this principle, women in our country got the right to vote from the very first day of independence. Whereas in countries like America, women had to wait 150 years for this right,” she said.

Parliament special session LIVE: “Women quickly recognize men who repeatedly try to mislead them,” Priyanka Gandhi in Lok Sabha.

Parliament special session LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the first day of the special session of the Parliament, pushing for all parties to “collectively” ensure the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam or The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023.

PM Modi said that the women's reservation bill would not “discriminate” against anyone and would not be “unfair.”

The special session of the Parliament's Budget session began Thursday, and is due to run from April 16 to April 18.

Three key bills – The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Delimitation Bill, 2026, The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 – have been introduced. The decision on these will be taken on Friday (April 17) at 4 pm IST. Read more.

Parliament special session LIVE: Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, while speaking after PM Modi's Lok Sabha address on women quota bill, "If we keep talking about what should have been done 25–50 years ago, how will we think about the future? Secondly, a narrative is being created that the opposition is against it. But the bill was already passed in 2023 with the support of all parties, so the question of opposition does not arise. Thirdly, the manner in which it was passed—before the delimitation exercise, there should have been a caste census; after the census, delimitation should have taken place; and only after delimitation should reservation have been implemented. We want to say that all parties are in agreement on this bill. But why is the nature of the bill being changed repeatedly? That is the first question. Secondly, if BJP wants, we are ready."

Parliament special session LIVE: Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik appeal all MPs of Odisha, irrespective of party affiliation, to raise their voice both inside and outside the Parliament against the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill as, he said, “it could undermine Odisha’s dignity, representation, and long-term interests”.

“The Bill if implemented, will reduce Odisha's share in Lok Sabha from 3.9% to 3.4%, making us amongst the top 6 states losing their share. A 0.5% share loss is a huge loss given our minuscule 3.9% representation today. A relative reduction in Odisha's voice in the Lok Sabha would weaken our ability to advocate for state-specific needs, from disaster management to tribal welfare and regional development. This is not merely a political issue—it is about preserving the federal spirit enshrined in our Constitution,” Patnaik wrote on X.

PM Modi speech live: Speaking in Lok Sabha on women's reservation and delimitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I want to say responsibly today that this will not discriminate against anyone. This decision process will not be unfair to anyone. The government that was in power earlier, the delimitation of the seats, and the ratio that has been in place since then, will remain unchanged, and the ratio will remain the same..."

PM Modi speech live: PM Modi said that women reservation bill “should not be evaluated from a political lens. Those who share half the responsibility should have the right to be here.”

PM Modi speech live: PM Modi said that the women quota bill 'is an opportunity to move beyond old limitations and support women’s empowerment in the nation’s interest. We should move forward with this bill with consensus; when there is unanimity, the treasury benches have a special responsibility'.

PM Modi speech live: PM Modi said that he does not want credit for women's reservation bill.

“I don't want credit. After this bill passes, tomorrow I will give a full-page ad with whosoever's photo you want,” he said.

Parliament special session LIVE: PM Modi said, “I could call this is a guarantee, or a 'vaada', or use some appropriate Tamil word. But if our intent is clean, we don't need to play with words.”