Ahead of monsoon session, Cong seeks standalone provision for women's quota, rejects delimitation Bill

Three days before the start of the monsoon session of Parliament on 20 July, the Congress on Thursday, 16 July, said it would strongly oppose the proposed delimitation Bill if the Centre reintroduces it in the session.

Signalling an aggressive offensive against the Modi government on issues ranging from the donation theft at the Ram mandir in Ayodhya, the E20 scam and paper leaks to inflation and foreign policy, the principal opposition party said it will defeat the Bill with the help of the other Opposition parties again.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group chaired by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders attended the meeting to finalise the party's strategy for the upcoming session.

The Delimitation Bill, 2026, along with the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 16 April 2026. The legislation proposes the constitution of a Delimitation Commission for the readjustment and reallocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, while repealing the Delimitation Act, 2002.

Politically, it seeks to unfreeze seat allocations, expand the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats and facilitate the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women. It failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha, falling short with 298 votes in favour and 230 against.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party had reviewed the bills likely to be introduced during the session, though it was still awaiting the government's official legislative agenda.

"We have heard that the Home Minister is trying to reintroduce the Delimitation Bill, which failed to secure the required two-thirds majority on April 17, marking a significant setback for the government. They now want to bring the Bill back," Ramesh said.

Reiterating the party’s position, he said, "The Congress party's position has always been clear. We will strongly oppose the Delimitation Bill and continue to do so. We will make every effort to maintain unity among all opposition parties."

He alleged that the government was attempting to secure the numbers needed for the Bill's passage by engineering splits within opposition parties.

Any attempt to reintroduce the legislation, Ramesh said, was an "insult to the Constitution", and added that the government was trying to obtain a two-third majority through "cunning tactics".

"Securing a two-thirds majority by breaking up other political parties would be an affront to the Constitution. It would be a tainted majority," he said.

Ramesh maintained that the Congress supported reservation of seats for women but opposed what it viewed as the linkage between reservation and delimitation.

"Bring a standalone provision for women’s reservation and we will extend our full support. But the legislation presented as a women's reservation measure was, in reality, a dangerous Delimitation Bill introduced under the guise of women's reservation," he said.

The Congress also announced that it would raise a series of political and governance issues during the session. In a post on X, Kharge listed what he described as the government's failures and controversies.

" 'Chanda Chori–Astha se Dhoka', paper leaks and the systemic corrosion of the education system, institutional capture, breaking of political parties, multiple scams and allegations of corruption, back-breaking price rise, foreign policy failures and strategic blunders, the imposition of ethanol blending on 3.5 crore vehicle owners, unbridled deforestation, and the continued assault on the rights of SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities are among the critical issues on which the Congress Party will hold the Modi government accountable during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament," Kharge said.

Meanwhile, Kharge on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over reports that the government was planning to reintroduce the Bill and urged him to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the revised proposals.

Kharge said he had also requested this in letters to Minister of parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju in March and April. "Unfortunately, these requests had not been accepted,” he said. 

On the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Ramesh said the issue would be raised in Parliament.

"There are other issues we intend to raise, particularly the theft of donations and the betrayal of faith. New information is emerging every day regarding the Lord Shri Ram temple. We will certainly raise what we believe is a major scandal in Ayodhya," he said.

Ramesh said the all-party meeting scheduled for 19 July was a mere "formality" and alleged that suggestions made by opposition parties were routinely ignored by the ruling party.

The monsoon session is scheduled to run from 20 July to 13 August. Although there has been intense speculation that the Centre may reintroduce a revised Delimitation Bill during the session, the government has not yet formally announced its legislative agenda.