PM urges early rollout of women’s quota in letter to floor leaders

PM Narendra Modi has said that the time has come to implement the Women’s Reservation Act in its “true spirit”, urging amendments to ensure it is in place before the 2029 general elections.

In a letter dated April 11 addressed to leaders of political parties in both Houses of Parliament ahead of a special session scheduled from April 16 to 18, Modi called for consensus on the legislation, officially known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

He stated that after detailed deliberations, there was a clear need to operationalise the law across the country and emphasised that both the 2029 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections should be conducted with women’s reservation in effect, TNIE reported.

The Centre has convened a three-day special session of Parliament to consider amendments to the Act, which currently ties the implementation of 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to the completion of the delimitation process based on the 2027 Census.

As per existing provisions, the quota would only come into force after delimitation, potentially pushing its implementation to 2034. The proposed changes aim to advance this timeline so that the reservation can be implemented in time for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Once implemented, the law is expected to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women.