Venugopal was speaking in the Lok Sabha as the three-day Parliament session convened on Thursday. (Photo: Screengrab from YouTube/SansadTV)
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal Thursday said that the intention behind introducing the Delimitation Bill is to take away the protection that was offered by Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee — a tacit reference to the 1976 and 2001 freeze on delimitation.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, as the three-day Parliament session convened on Thursday, Venugopal asserted the party’s demand to withdraw the Bill on delimitation of constituencies.
Objecting to the Bills aimed at tweaking women’s quota law, and setting up a delimitation panel, Venugopal said, “This bill is a fundamental attack on the Indian federal structure. What exactly is the intention of this bill? The parliament passed the bill in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ensuring 33 per cent reservation of women… Why did the government not implement women’s reservation in 2024?”
He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre had itself introduced the Bill in 2023, and now it is saying it cannot happen as per it.
Responding to Venugopal’s comments swiftly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Venugopal can mention technical objections alone against the introduction of the Bill and cannot speak on the merits of the Bill before its introduction.”
Shah further said that the government would give a “strong reply” to the Opposition during the debate.
Following a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders ahead of Parliament proceedings, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition will not allow Parliament to be hijacked by delimitation bills disguised as women’s reservation. Taking to X, he wrote: “We stand united and will fight this devious assault on our Democracy with all our strength.”
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A day earlier, Opposition parties said that they would vote against the Constitution amendment Bill provisions on delimitation, with some among them calling the delimitation plan “a devious agenda” and “a tool to win a majority for the ruling party”.
Kharge on Wednesday said, “We have been continuously supporting women’s reservation. We are insisting that an earlier amendment that was passed be implemented. They are playing tricks with delimitation. Therefore, all parties have taken a decision, unitedly, to oppose this Bill.”
The three Bills introduced in the Parliament on Thursday include the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
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