New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Thursday said that while his party supports the Women’s Reservation Bill, it opposes the proposed delimitation exercise. He added that the INDIA bloc would vote against the delimitation-related proposal, asserting that the government may not have sufficient numbers to pass it.

Speaking to reporters, Karti Chidambaram said, “The timing of the Parliament session itself is very devious. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are yet to go to the polls, and we are in the middle of an election campaign. In order to disrupt the campaign of the principal political parties in these states, which are clearly opposed to the BJP, the government has convened a Parliament session on the 16th, 17th, and 18th. This clearly reflects the government’s underhanded agenda.”

He further stated, “We will all support the Women’s Reservation Bill, but delimitation is another questionable move by the government. We will oppose this Bill. Our voices are not adequately heard in Parliament, and if the strength of the House is increased to 850, we will have even less time to raise issues. While we support providing greater representation to women within the current strength of the House, we do not support increasing its size to 850.”

Chidambaram reiterated that the INDIA bloc would stand united in opposing the delimitation proposal.

“We will vote against the Bill. The government does not have sufficient numbers, and we are clear in our position — we support women’s reservation, but not delimitation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the special session of Parliament for amendments related to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has commenced. A three-day special sitting of the extended Budget Session began on Thursday, with discussions centred on proposed Constitutional amendments linked to the implementation of the legislation.

The government is expected to introduce three amendment Bills aimed at operationalising the law, which was passed in 2023 to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Earlier this week, the Central government shared the draft of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, with the Members of Parliament. The proposed amendment seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 members, including representatives from states and union territories.

The Bill proposes a cap of 815 members to be directly elected from constituencies in the states, while not more than 35 members would represent the union territories, to be chosen in a manner prescribed by Parliament.

–IANS

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