Congress challenges Modi to apply women’s quota to current LS seats
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Bhopal: The Congress on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the women’s reservation law immediately by applying the 33 per cent quota to the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, instead of waiting for a delimitation exercise.
Addressing a press conference, Congress national spokesperson Ragini Nayak clarified that the women’s quota Bill was not defeated in Parliament but was unanimously passed in 2023 and remains law. She accused the Modi government of failing to implement it over the past three years.
“Modi ji, you have one more chance. If you truly want to improve your anti-women image, accept the Congress’s demand and implement reservation for women in the current 543 seats. This should be done in the upcoming monsoon session, and women from backward classes must also receive a one-third share,” Nayak said.
She further noted that the Constitution Amendment Bill — proposing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 general elections — failed to pass in the Lower House on April 17. During voting on the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill, 2026, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against, falling short of the required two-thirds majority.
Nayak asserted that despite this, the original legislation — the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — remains valid. “The law has not been defeated. It was passed unanimously in 2023 and is still in force. It is only that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not allowing its implementation,” she said.
She criticised the Centre’s intent, pointing out that the notification for the Bill, passed three years ago, was issued late at 9:55 pm on April 16. “This shows the government kept women’s reservation on hold for three years and suddenly acted amid the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal elections,” she alleged.
Reiterating the party’s commitment, Nayak said the Congress leadership, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, remains determined to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women. She emphasised that women from Dalit, tribal, and backward communities must not be denied their rightful share.
The Congress also opposed any delimitation exercise that, according to the party, could reduce the representation of southern, northeastern, and smaller states, or affect the share of marginalised women.
Citing an article by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Nayak said that any future delimitation to increase Lok Sabha seats should ensure fair representation for all states based on “political impartiality, not merely arithmetic”.
Responding to a question on whether the party would nominate a woman candidate from Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, Nayak said she was not the authority to decide but described it as a “good suggestion.”
With PTI inputs