New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Following the fall of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which did not secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, floor leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met for a crucial meeting in Parliament on Friday.

It was decided in the meeting that the constituents will raise the issue of the Opposition’s resistance to women’s empowerment, said sources.

The message will be delivered to people across the country through protests, press conferences, and social media to make people aware of the development.

The government had called for a three-day special session of Parliament to introduce and discuss the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026; the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and the Delimitation Bill, 2026.

Introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday and discussed for two days, these proposed an increase in the size of the House of the People, sought to enable delimitation based on the 2011 Census, and enable reservation for women to be based on this delimitation. The Union Territories (UTs) Laws Bill was to give effect to similar provisions in cases of Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Opposition opposed linking delimitation with the implementation of women’s reservation.

With 528 members present and voting, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, received 298 votes in favour and 230 against on Friday, where the government fell short by about 54 mandates.

Following the result, Parliamentary Minister Kiren Rijiju requested Speaker Om Birla to not put the other two bills to vote since the three bills were intrinsically interrelated.

Sensing the mood of the Opposition, the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act, providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, was notified late on Thursday by the Union Law Ministry.

While the Bill was passed in September 2023, it was to be operationalised, being linked to a fresh delimitation exercise. The government introduced the new legislation to amend relevant provisions and pave the way for its rollout ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The last Census was held in 2011, with the next scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

–IANS

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