‘Delimitation is the issue’: Sonia Gandhi vs PM Modi on women’s quota bill Explained

But it comes with several caveats, one of which is the necessary delimitation of India’s electoral map. Simply put, boundaries will be redrawn to create more Lok Sabha constituencies and then potentially assembly constituencies.

it delimitation The scheme has emerged as a major controversy between PM Narendra Modi’s government and the Congress-led opposition.

Government will need some opposition help Pass these bills, as constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority which the BJP-led NDA does not have.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that these changes fulfill the promises made by all the parties together. But Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has written that the real issue is not women’s reservation at all – with which she says no one has any issue – but the delimitation exercise being linked to it.

Both positions were publicly traded within hours of each other on Monday, defining the battle lines in the special session.

The first is a constitutional amendment which requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament. The second issue relates to the delimitation or redrawing of Lok Sabha seat maps at the grassroots level. Together, the bill aims to increase Lok Sabha seats by 50% – from 543 to 816 – with an additional 273 seats reserved for women.

Importantly, the exercise will be based on the 2011 census and not the ongoing census which began this month and data for which will not be available for some time.

An earlier amendment to the women’s quota, which was passed with unanimous support in 2023, had linked quota implementation to the next census, which is not yet in full swing. This would mean that the actual reservation would not be effective for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Because, first of all census will have to be conductedAnd then delimitation – a long process.

Now, a Delimitation Commission is proposed to redraw the constituency boundaries before the 2029 general elections, using the 2011 census instead of waiting for the latest census.

“Nobody wanted the bill to be passed and not implemented, especially our opposition leaders. They were very vocal that it should be implemented in 2029. Keeping that timeline in mind, the government decided to take seriously what the opposition said,” he said.

Describing the upcoming special sittings of Parliament as a historic moment, Modi urged all parties to pass the amendments unanimously.

He said, “I am confident that just as it was passed (in 2023) and the glory of Parliament increased, this time too with the collective efforts of all, the dignity of Parliament will reach new heights.”

“Reservation for women is not an issue here. It has already been decided. The real issue is delimitation, which based on information available informally is extremely dangerous and an attack on the Constitution,” she wrote in an article. The Hindu.

He argued that any delimitation exercise should before a new censusAs has been the practice historically.

He openly raised the question of states’ participation in the Lok Sabha. He said any delimitation should not put those smaller states and states that have been leaders in family planning – such as most South Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala – at an “absolute or relative disadvantage”.

He argued that even a proportional increase in seats could harm such states, as “the difference in absolute numbers would increase”.

The BJP has said that the direct increase to 50% does not affect the states’ proportional share in Parliament.

Sonia also raised questions on the timing of change in the government’s stance from 2023. “Why did it take Prime Minister Narendra Modi 30 months to make his U-turn?”. he asked, suggesting that the special session was called to manage “political narratives” amid assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry.

He accused the government of being “hasty in bringing about extremely far-reaching changes in our politics”.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on Monday and raised questions on the timing. He said that the government is seeking the cooperation of the opposition without giving sufficient details.

They demanded that women’s reservation be implemented immediately without fresh delimitation or change in the number of Lok Sabha seats.

In an interview with news agency PTI over the weekend, he said, “The central government is not worried about implementing reservation for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it immediately. Instead of doing so, the BJP-led Center is thinking of using it as a weapon to deal with the protests and carrying out a delimitation exercise based on population.”

Under the proposed 50% flat increase, the 80 Lok Sabha seats in states like Uttar Pradesh would increase to 120; Bihar 40 to 60. These are the states of Hindi belt where BJP is strong.

In the South where the BJP mostly struggles, it will go from 39 to about 59 in Tamil Nadu and 20 to 30 in Kerala.

The government’s position is that since the seats of every state increase in the same proportion, there is no change in the share of any state in Parliament.

The five southern states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – collectively account for 23.8% of the current 543-seat House. After the expansion, they will have 23.9% of the 816-seat house. There is hardly any change.

However, the Gandhi family and several chief ministers argue that proportionate share is not the whole picture.

The absolute difference in seat numbers between the northern Hindi belt states and the southern states will increase – according to a basic calculation, the North will collectively get 88 seats and the South 66 seats.

This would make it difficult for smaller factions to form coalitions to block constitutional amendments or oppose changes to the tax-sharing arrangement between states.

An ordinary bill requires a simple majority.

Constitutional amendment under Article 368 requires a special majority, meaning two-thirds of the members present and voting. This is a major hurdle facing these bills.

There are 543 members in the Lok Sabha. Simple majority means 272. For special majority, two-thirds of the members are present and vote, this means 362.

The current Constitutional Amendment Bill changes Articles 81 (composition of the Lok Sabha), 82 (delimitation), 330 (SC/ST reservation) and 334A (women’s reservation), requiring a special majority.

The NDA has about 293 seats in the Lok Sabha, comfortably above 272 but less than 362. In the Rajya Sabha, the NDA is in a similar position – having a majority but not a two-thirds majority on its own.

Depending on turnout on polling day, the government needs 60 to 70 additional votes in the Lok Sabha from outside the NDA to cross the two-thirds bar. Regional parties – BJD, YSR Congress, and others not firmly in the NDA or India block – are attracting swing votes.

The second bill, on formation of the new Delimitation Commission, is ordinary legislation and requires only a simple majority which the NDA can manage.

Third, even higher category bills require a special majority. plus Ratification by at least half the state legislatures. This applies to provisions directly touching the federal structure, such as the division of powers between the Center and the states, or the election of the President.

None of these require the approval of the state legislature. Therefore, despite the huge federal implications of this practice – which the South is incensed about – state legislatures have no formal veto. They can’t stop these bills. They can only exert political pressure.