Just a day after the BJP-led NDA government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was unable to secure a majority in the Parliament, Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK proposed a private member’s bill instead. The
bill aims to delink the reservation from any change in the total number and boundaries of constituencies.
According to the bill proposed by the DMK, the 33 percent reservation from the very next election, on the existing 543-seat Lok Sabha, without any seat increase, delimitation, or census data, new or old.
DMK serves notice in the Rajya Sabha to debate and pass a bill exclusively focused on women’s reservation.
DMK MP Wilson has introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill designed to provide reservation for women starting from the very next election, without altering the current strength of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, and without undertaking any delimitation of constituencies or conducting a census.
Earlier in 2023, the women’s quota was originally passed with almost all-party support; however, opposition questioned that the government over a “hasty” delimitation based on the old, 2011 Census data.
Delimitation Debate
The DMK bill proposed to amend the Constitution to make the 2023 women’s reservation operative immediately, without increasing the total number of seats and without waiting for a census or delimitation.
On Friday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government’s Constitution Amendment Bill on women’s quota failed in the Lok Sabha as it was not able to secure the required two-thirds majority.
Political Standoff
The DMK’s move intensifies the political standoff that marked the special parliamentary session. The government had proposed a package of three bills combining women’s reservation with a large-scale delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census, along with expanding the Lok Sabha to 816 seats initially, and up to 850 in the future.
After the Opposition voted these down, the BJP’s response was to accuse the Congress, TMC, DMK and Samajwadi Party of betraying 700 million women. The ongoing debate comes just ahead of the scheduled Assembly elections this year.
Notably, throughout the session, the Opposition leaders argued that reservations could be implemented on the existing 543 seats without any of the contested provisions.
The government has not yet responded to the DMK bill. It has argued in the past that expanding the House altogether would protect current political leaders’ interests while also providing more space for women.
A Union cabinet meeting to be chaired by PM Modi is also scheduled for Saturday.
