Prep to call special Parliament session for women's reservation amendment bill

The central government is considering calling a special session of Parliament to implement 33 percent reservation for women in legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha, and to pass the constitutional amendment bill related to delimitation. Under this proposed amendment, there is a proposal to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to a maximum of 850 through delimitation.

To get the constitutional amendment bill passed, a two-thirds majority in the lower house, meaning 361 votes, will be required. Three seats are currently vacant in the Lok Sabha. The government is confident that it will get the bill passed by securing 15 to 18 votes more than the required figure. However, no formal announcement has been made yet regarding the dates of this session.

Earlier in April, this constitutional amendment bill could not be passed due to not getting the required majority in the Lok Sabha. At that time, 298 votes were cast in favor of the bill, while 352 votes were needed to pass it.

The monsoon session of Parliament was adjourned sine die on August 13, but it was not formally concluded. This session has been running for 91 days without conclusion, due to which the government can call a meeting on just two days' notice. Giving at least 14 days' notice is mandatory to call a new session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had earlier also indicated keeping the possibility of calling such a meeting open.

To address the apprehensions of southern states, the government is considering a proposal to increase each state's seats by 50 percent and maintain the seat ratio based on the 1971 census. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and other parties have demanded that the political representation of southern states should not decrease due to population control.

On the other hand, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has questioned the government's claims, saying that the ruling party does not have a complete two-thirds majority. Meanwhile in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal had supported the proposal for women's reservation and increasing assembly seats after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Key developments

• Preparation to call special session for women's reservation and delimitation amendment bill
• Need for two-thirds majority of 361 votes in Lok Sabha to pass the bill
• Meeting can be called on two days' notice as monsoon session was not formally concluded
• This constitutional bill could not be passed in April due to getting 298 votes
• Consideration being given to increasing seats by 50 percent to resolve objections of southern states