Congress: Is HM seeking 2/3 majority to pass delimitation-linked bill?

The Congress on Sunday questioned the delay in formally proroguing Parliament’s monsoon session, asking whether Union home minister Amit Shah was still trying to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass a Constitution Amendment Bill linked to delimitation in a possible special session.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on 13 August, but the Houses have not yet been formally prorogued.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the gap between adjournment sine die and prorogation is generally two to four days, although there have been instances when both took place on the same day.

“Ten days have gone by since this Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die but still there is no information on its prorogation,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

He acknowledged that the gap had been longer in the past, citing the 2015 Monsoon session, when it was 28 days, and the 2021 session, when it was 20 days. However, he argued that there were no comparable moves under consideration at the time.

“What explains the abnormal delay now?” Ramesh asked, alleging that the Union government could still be seeking the required two-thirds majority to pass a Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation in a special session.

Ramesh also shared an excerpt from Practice and Procedure of Parliament by M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher, which explains that prorogation is the formal termination of a parliamentary session by the President under Article 85(2), acting on the advice of the prime minister.

The Congress has repeatedly claimed that the government does not have the numbers required to pass a Constitution Amendment Bill involving delimitation and women’s reservation.

The party had earlier described the alleged effort to secure a two-thirds majority as an “opposition success”, arguing that the government could not muster the necessary support to bring the legislation.

“They don't have a two-thirds majority and will never get it,” Ramesh had said after the Houses were adjourned sine die.

The issue is particularly significant because Constitution Amendment Bills require the support of at least two-thirds of members present and voting, as well as a majority of the total membership of the House.

During the Budget session, the government suffered a setback when a Constitution Amendment Bill linked to delimitation and the implementation of women’s reservation was defeated in the Lok Sabha. Of the 528 MPs who voted, 298 supported the measure while 230 opposed it. The Bill needed 352 votes to secure a two-thirds majority.

The Congress has also put forward its own position on the delimitation debate. At a recent meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party demanded that the present strength of the Lok Sabha — 543 seats — remain frozen for another 25 years.

The party has simultaneously called for one-third reservation for women to be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, without waiting for an increase in the number of seats following delimitation.

In a resolution, the CWC said the constitutional freeze on the current strength of the Lok Sabha and its allocation among states should continue for 25 years, while women’s reservation should be implemented on the existing strength from 2029.

The Congress has also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to opposition parties to support the delimitation-linked legislation for implementing women’s reservation, describing it as a political “drama” and alleging that the government’s priority was “Modi preservation, not women’s reservation”.

With Parliament yet to be formally prorogued, the Congress is now using the delay to renew its questions over the government’s plans on delimitation, women’s reservation and the possibility of convening a special session.

With PTI inputs