Cong seeks 25-Year Freeze on LS seats, pushes women’s quota from 2029
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Photo: IANS
,The Congress on Wednesday called for the present strength of the Lok Sabha to remain unchanged for another 25 years, while seeking the implementation of the 33 per cent reservation for women from the 2029 elections.
The position was discussed at a four-hour Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh.
On the issue of delimitation, Congress said it supported retaining the current 543 Lok Sabha seats for the next 25 years. Jairam Ramesh said the party wanted the women's reservation provision to be implemented on the basis of the existing number of seats, The New Indian Express reported.
The CWC also decided to launch nationwide campaigns on issues concerning students, alleged irregularities involving donations to the Ram Temple and concerns surrounding E20 petrol.
K.C. Venugopal said the party would organise protests over the alleged corruption related to Ram Temple donations, arguing that the matter had become connected to public sentiment.
On education, Kharge called for a comprehensive and time-bound roadmap linking education with employment. The CWC asked Congress chief ministers to prepare state-specific reports within a month outlining reforms required in the education sector.
In its resolution, the committee alleged that paper leaks had reached alarming levels, claiming that at least 152 such incidents had occurred since 2014. It accused the Union government of failing to adequately address unemployment among educated young people and also criticised police action against students protesting over the NEET-UG paper leak.
The meeting also raised concerns about the E20 fuel rollout, including possible issues related to fuel contamination and the environmental consequences of diverting crops such as sugarcane and maize towards ethanol production.
The Congress further decided to continue its longstanding practice of singing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events.