New Delhi, April 3 The Congress on Friday alleged that the government has called a "special session" to pass bills related to amending the women's quota law and delimitation in order to "gain political advantage" in the upcoming elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which it claims is a "gross violation" of the Model Code of Conduct.
Asserting that the government's rushed delimitation exercise would have "serious consequences," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "We do not want any disruption in the current situation and relative strength."
He stated that the government had been "inactive" for 30 months since the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023, and was now trying to "take undue credit" in the election season.
He said there had been no official communication or proposal from the government regarding delimitation.
"However, off the record, we have learned that there will be a proportionate increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats," Ramesh said at a press conference here.
He explained that the claim is that there will be a proportionate increase, but the reality is that smaller states and those in the South, Northeast, and West will be disproportionately affected.
According to Ramesh, Uttar Pradesh's representation will increase to 120, while Kerala will likely have only around 40 seats.
"So, what we have heard unofficially is that this would be very detrimental to many states," he said.
"The only objective of this special session is to gain political advantage and influence the elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Why couldn't this have been done after 15 days?" Ramesh questioned.
Opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will convene a meeting with senior Congress MPs and then hold a meeting with other opposition leaders before April 16 to strategize on this matter.
Ramesh stated that the government is attempting to manipulate the narrative, as they are losing the political and foreign policy narrative.
He urged the government to hold an all-party meeting after April 29.
These remarks came after it emerged that the Budget session of Parliament would reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess to pass bills to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816, in order to implement the women's reservation law as soon as possible, amid the upcoming elections.
While the government is keen on passing these bills, including amending the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, the opposition has accused the Centre of trying to rush the process to gain political advantage in the state elections.
The two Houses will reconvene on April 16, with sources saying that the session is likely to last for three days to address the proposed legislation.
"The government has stated that both Houses will meet on April 16, 17, and 18, and there will be a special session. The first thing is that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote to Kharge on March 16, requesting a discussion with the Congress on amending the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam," Ramesh said.
Kharge responded, stating that an all-party meeting should be held, as the government believes in divide and rule," he added.
On March 24, all opposition parties wrote to Rijiju and said that all-party meetings would be held after April 29, as the Model Code of Conduct is in place and political parties are busy with elections, he said.
"After two days, on March 26, Rijiju wrote to Kharge, requesting a meeting with Congress to discuss the constitutional amendment. Half an hour later, Kharge responded to Rijiju and reiterated the demand for an all-party meeting after April 29," he narrated.
The government had made up its mind to call a "special session" in early April, before the elections in Kerala and Assam, but as this exchange of letters went on for some time, their attempt was thwarted, Ramesh said.
"Then they took a unilateral decision to call the session when campaigning for the elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu would be on, and the Model Code of Conduct was in place," he said.
In all these letters, there was only talk of amending the women's reservation bill, but now it is clear that this special session is also about delimitation, Ramesh said.
"There was no discussion about delimitation. Rijiju never said that delimitation was also on the agenda. In these three days, the women's quota law will be amended, and there will be a constitutional amendment related to delimitation," he said.
When the women's quota was passed in September 2023, the government said it would be implemented after the Census and delimitation, he recalled.
"Kharge had then demanded that it should be implemented immediately, as you don't need Census or delimitation, but they said that Census and delimitation were necessary. They kept inactive for 30 months," Ramesh said.
And suddenly the government said that the Census results would come in 2029, he said, adding this is in contradiction to what the Registrar General said recently.
The government has been holding back-channel talks with the Opposition to bring at least two bills to implement the women's reservation law and delink delimitation from the Census to increase seats in Lok Sabha from the present 543 to 816.
The issue saw a war of words between the treasury and opposition benches in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, with Leader of House J P Nadda stressing that the government has the right to decide on the timing when a legislation has to be brought in, while Kharge accused the government of being a "bully", and claimed that the BJP was trying to draw political mileage out of the issue of women's reservation.
There was no official word on the Opposition party's claims.
The sitting starting April 16 is part of the second half of the Budget session.
According to the government calendar, the House was scheduled to adjourn sine die (for an indefinite period) on April 2.
While elections in Puducherry, Assam and Kerala are scheduled for April 9, polls in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. In Tamil Nadu, polls will be held in a single phase on April 23.
