2 months ago
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Even arsenic the Congress has refused to conscionable authorities interlocutors connected the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act—now projected to beryllium based connected the 2011 Census alternatively of waiting for the ongoing enumeration—two of the largest absorption parties, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), met Home Minister Amit Shah past week.
The government’s determination besides accelerates delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, expanding the Lower House’ spot from 543 to 816.
On Thursday, the SP delegation was scheduled to conscionable Mr. Shah astatine 10:30 a.m. An hr earlier the meeting, Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal arrived astatine the residence of elder SP person Ram Gopal Yadav to travel him and the remainder of the delegation. Mr. Meghwal’s antithetic courtesy was to guarantee that the enactment did not skip the invitation aft earlier reschedules. A DMK delegation led by its Lok Sabha person K. Kanimozhi met the Home Minister connected Friday.
Both parties responded positively to the government’s proposal. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin said successful a station connected X connected Tuesday (March 24, 2026) that the enactment “fully supports this inaugural of bringing women’s preservation with immoderate preconditions,” portion insisting connected the confederate States’ “right to just delimitation.” He reiterated that the existent proportional practice of States “should not beryllium disturbed” and called for a law warrant preserving this equilibrium for the adjacent 30 years.
Mr. Stalin, however, questioned the timing, calling it an effort to “secure electoral gains” up of upcoming Assembly elections successful 4 large States. With the Model Code of Conduct successful force, helium said, “pushing specified an important measurement is unprecedented,” urging the authorities to convene a peculiar league successful June aft the polls to enact the law amendment.
Two days earlier the SP meeting, connected March 16, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, responding to a written invitation from the government, aft it spurned galore oral invites, insisted connected an all-party gathering wherever the “roadmap tin beryllium discussed with each absorption parties present.” The Congress had already conveyed this stance verbally to the government.
Congress, which sees itself arsenic the earthy person of the INDIA bloc owing to its parliamentary spot and nationalist footprint, failed to pass this presumption to allies, respective of whom met the authorities individually.
On Tuesday, Mr. Kharge again wrote to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, this clip connected behalf of “all Opposition parties,” reiterating the request for an all-party gathering and asking the authorities to circulate a written enactment detailing its proposal. The meeting, helium said, should beryllium held lone aft the existent circular of Assembly elections. Several Opposition parties, including the Left, signed the letter.
The Left parties, incidentally, were the lone ones to travel the Congress’s lead. They refused to conscionable the authorities either individually oregon collectively, declining invitations for Monday’s circular of talks during which Mr. Shah met the NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), YSR Congress, and AIMIM. Several rounds of invitations hurriedly scrawled connected chits passed astir connected the level of the House, up of Monday’s meeting, by the authorities interlocutors to invitation the Left leaders besides failed.
Signatories to Mr. Kharge’s latest missive see respective parties that person already met the government, specified arsenic the DMK and the NCP (SP).
The Trinamool Congress, meanwhile, refusing to instrumentality its oculus disconnected the assembly elections successful West Bengal, has not engaged connected the issue, either with the authorities oregon with the remainder of the Opposition. It has spurned each invitations from the government. Trinamool Rajya Sabha person O’ Brien called it an “election stunt”. Another elder person said that specified invitations could not beryllium extended informally successful Parliamentary corridors.
The authorities has not shared immoderate written papers with the parties it briefed. Instead, Mr. Shah communicated cardinal elements verbally: delimitation volition beryllium based connected the 2011 Census; colonisation volition not beryllium the determinant successful deciding spot of a State’s practice successful the Lok Sabha; Lok Sabha and Assembly seats volition summation by 50% crossed the board; each State’s percent stock of Lok Sabha seats volition stay unchanged; and a quota for women volition use to SC and ST reserved seats. A Delimitation Commission is apt to beryllium constituted by June. The authorities has not explained the ground for the 50% figure.
