The Lok Sabha is scheduled to resume discussions on Friday and proceed to vote on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.
Apart from this, the House will also pass the Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends the provisions to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which aims to redraw the constituencies and expand the Lok Sabha to 850 seats, as reported by ANI.
According to the list of Business for Lok Sabha, The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026; The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026; and The Delimitation Bill, 2026 will be discussed together.
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Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also likely to suggest that amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act and the Delimitation Act be passed.
Earlier on Thursday, the Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill, which removes the need to implement the law only after the census is taken. According to the final breakdown, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of a total of 333 votes. With a majority of 251 AYES, all three bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The bill was discussed by several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Several opposition leaders including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress leader KC Venugopal also participated in the discussion.
The Congress urged the government to withdraw the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill 2026 in its current form and convene an all-party meeting to reach a consensus on it.
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Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the bill, Venugopal said the government intends to enforce the delimitation in the garb of the Women’s Reservation Act.
Meanwhile, Owaisi claimed that “if these bills become law, the voice of the opposition will be reduced to nothing in this House”.
Several DMK and Congress MPs also argued that southern states will be disproportionately affected if the bill is passed in its current form. Several leaders like Manickam Tagore, A Raja said that southern states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala will not have proportional increase compared to northern states.
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Union minister Amit Shah, on the other hand, sought to allay fears among opposition members that southern states would lose their influence due to the increase in seats. Shah said there will be about a 50 per cent increase in their seats, the relative share of the total number of seats will also shift upwards.
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TDP MP Byreddy Shabari on Thursday expressed support for women’s reservation laws and said the country is now focusing on women-led development and the proposed law would give women a legitimate opportunity to lead, PTI reported.
“Gone are the days when our roles were limited to wife, daughter or mother only. Gone are the days when the nation talked about women’s development, but here come the days when the nation talks about women-led development and the nation gives us a chance to compete with the world and also gives us a chance to lead the nation in a legitimate way,” said a TDP MP who is part of the NDA Centre.
(With input from agencies)
Key things
- The Women’s Reservation Act proposes a 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, a major step in gender representation.
- There were concerns about a disproportionate impact on southern states as a result of potential changes in electoral district boundaries.
- The debate reflects a broader national conversation about women’s empowerment and representation in governance.
