Congress CWC to meet on Women's Bill ahead of special Parliament session

The Congress party will convene a meeting of its Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Delhi on Friday, April 10, to deliberate developments related to the Women's Reservation Bill, ahead of a three-day special session of Parliament scheduled to begin on April 16.

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This comes as the Parliament is set to meet for a three-day special session from April 16, with a focus on the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill.

Government's Proposed Amendments

The Government has planned two major amendments.

2023's Nari Shakti Vandan Act tied women's reservation to the new census and delimitation. Due to census delays, the plan is to proceed with the 2011 census data.

The 2011 census is to be the basis for delimitation and seat redistribution.

Impact on Lok Sabha and Reservation

Lok Sabha seats may increase from 543 to 816 post-amendment. A bill will be introduced in Parliament to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. A separate Delimitation Bill will be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation. The new Lok Sabha is likely to have more than 800 seats. Keeping up with the status quo, there is no provision for OBC reservation, and SC/ST reservation will continue. However, states won't have a role; the bill passed by Parliament will apply to them.

Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats. With a proposed 50% increase, the number of seats will rise to 816, with 273 (about a third) reserved for women. The government's key point is that they won't wait for a new census to give women, comprising half the country's population, fair representation in Parliament. Instead, delimitation will be done using the 2011 census data.

Political Reactions

Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday criticised the government, alleging a political "U-turn" aimed at influencing voters in poll-bound states. "The Modi government has done a U-turn to divert attention from the grave economic crisis and influence voters," he said in a post on X, adding that the Congress had been demanding immediate implementation since 2023. Ramesh also pointed out that the original Act linked reservation to delimitation and census under Article 334-A, which the government now seeks to amend.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, urged bipartisan support for the proposed amendment. Addressing a rally in Assam, he said, "There should be no politics on this. I urge Congress to support the amendment so that a unanimous decision in favour of women is taken." (ANI)