The One-third Reservation of Seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies Amendment Bill will seek to ensure reservation based on the 2011 census.File Image | Photo credit: PTI
The Congress on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi government of taking a U-turn on the Women’s Reservation Act by seeking to implement it after delimiting Lok Sabha and Assembly seats based on the 2011 census.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh claimed that the move marked a reversal of the government’s earlier stand that the provisions of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam could be put into practice only after the completion of the next census and delimitation exercise.
“When Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 was discussed, Indian National Congress demanded its immediate implementation from 2024 Lok Sabha elections itself. Modi Govt said it is not possible as both delimitation and census must be completed first,” Mr. Ramesh said in a post on X social media platform.
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“Now the turner Ustad has suddenly changed his mind after 30 months and wants to introduce reservations WITHOUT completion of delimitation and enumeration operations,” he added.
“Mass Diversion”
Calling the move a “weapon of mass diversion”, he said, “Desperate to change the narrative from his failures and failures in foreign policy and from the LPG crisis and energy crisis facing the country, he came up with this new initiative. To make full use of it politically, he intimated that a special two-day session would be convened in the next fortnight to pass the Na203 Vandan203 amendment.”
In September 2023, the new House of Parliament was inaugurated with the passage of the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which amended the constitution to provide one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas and also provided one-third reservation for women in…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 25, 2026
The Congress president said the proposal to increase the strength of Lok Sabha and state assemblies by 50% “requires careful consideration”. Opposition parties have written to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijija asking for an all-party meeting after the House elections to discuss the proposed changes.
“It also seriously calls into question the real commitment of the Modi government to actually carry out the caste census it announced in April 2025 after accusing Indian National Congress leaders of harboring an urban naxal mindset for raising the demand in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign,” Mr Ramesh said.
Published – 25 March 2026 10:27 IST
