Opposition Targets PM Modi Over Special Parliament Session

“The Congress party has always stood firmly for Women’s Reservation—it is passed and settled. But delimitation is a far more sensitive exercise that requires wide consultation, consensus, and transparency. What we are witnessing instead is secrecy and denial—denial of representation to 150+ Backward Class women who could enter the Lok Sabha if proper caste data and due process are followed,” the MP said.

Echoing similar concerns, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said that despite the fact that just 48 hours are left before the session, the MPs have not seen any copy of the proposed constitutional amendment. He alleged that this reflects a disregard for parliamentary processes and termed the situation as resembling a “dictatorship”.

“Narendra and Amit continue to MOCK PARLIAMENT. And how! Today is April 14. Session in 48 hours. No one has even seen a copy of the proposed Constitutional Amendment. This is what dictatorship looks like,” O’Brien said.

Earlier, Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had also weighed in on the issue, highlighting concerns raised by Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Quoting her editorial piece published in a national daily, he said that any delimitation linked to an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha must be politically equitable, not just based on numbers.

Rahul Gandhi said Sonia Gandhi has flagged concerns about the risks and possible inequities that could arise from a hurried delimitation process, especially in the context of women’s reservation.

The collective responses from the Opposition leaders came a day after Sonia Gandhi asserted that the real issue with the government’s move to bring bills in a special sitting of Parliament is delimitation, and not women’s reservation.

She claimed that the reported delimitation proposal is “extremely dangerous” and an “assault” on the Constitution. Sonia Gandhi stressed that any delimitation involving an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha must be politically, and not just arithmetically, equitable.

Notably, the Parliament’s Budget Session this year has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, more commonly known as the Women Reservation Act, are likely to be brought up for its implementation in 2029.

While elections in Puducherry, Assam and Kerala were held on April 9, polls in West Bengal would be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. In Tamil Nadu, polls are scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 23.