Delimitation, not women’s reservation, real issue: Sonia Gandhi

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday alleged that the Centre’s move to convene a special session of Parliament is driven not by women’s reservation but by a “dangerous” delimitation agenda, which she termed an “assault on the Constitution itself”.

In an article published in The Hindu, Sonia Gandhi said, “Reservation for women is not the issue here. That has already been settled. The real issue is delimitation which… is extremely dangerous and an assault on the Constitution itself.”

Taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she questioned the urgency behind the 16–18 April special sitting, especially with assembly election campaigns underway in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. “There can be only one reason for the extraordinary hurry, which is to derive political advantage and place the Opposition on the defensive,” she alleged, accusing the government of trying to “bulldoze” key legislation.

Sonia Gandhi argued that any delimitation exercise — particularly one involving an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha — must be “politically, and not just arithmetically, equitable”. She warned that states that have successfully implemented family planning measures, as well as smaller states, risk losing relative political influence if seat allocation is based purely on population growth.

Referring to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, she noted that Parliament had unanimously passed the law in September 2023, mandating one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies after a Census-linked delimitation exercise. “The Opposition had not asked for this condition,” she said, adding that Congress had pushed for implementation from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections itself.

She questioned the government’s reported move to amend Article 334-A to operationalise women’s reservation from 2029. “Why did it take the Prime Minister 30 months to make his U-turn? And why can he not wait a few weeks to convene the special session?” she asked.

Sonia Gandhi also accused the government of sidelining the Opposition, noting that requests for an all-party meeting after April 29—when the final phase of West Bengal polls concludes—had been ignored. “It is an underhand tactic that reflects the Prime Minister’s ‘my way or the highway’ approach,” she said.

On the Census delay, she pointed out that the decadal exercise due in 2021 was postponed, affecting welfare distribution. “Over 10 crore people have been deprived of their legal entitlements under the National Food Security Act,” she claimed, linking the delay to disruptions in schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

While the government has now begun preparations for a digital Census, Sonia Gandhi said officials have indicated that most enumeration data would be available only by 2027 — undermining the urgency cited for delimitation.

She further alleged that the government’s “real intention” is to “delay and derail” the caste census, despite earlier assurances. “The propaganda that a caste census will delay Census 2027 is just not true,” she said, citing examples of Bihar and Telangana completing caste surveys within months.

Sonia Gandhi stressed that any delimitation must follow a completed Census, as has been the norm. “It goes without saying that any delimitation… must be preceded by a Census exercise,” she said.

Calling for a more consultative approach, she argued that the proposed changes could instead be taken up during the Monsoon Session after wider political and public discussion. “The heavens will not fall if the government were to call an all-party meeting… allowing time for a public debate,” she said.

“The process is deeply flawed and anti-democratic,” Rahul Gandhi added, reiterating that the government’s push reflects “narrative management during troubled times” rather than genuine legislative necessity.

With PTI inputs