New Delhi: Alleging that the Opposition parties are against women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies as well as an increase in the number of SC, ST seats, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday said the delimitation exercise will lead to rationalisation of voters in every constituency, some which now have electors in the range of nearly 40 lakh.
Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced to amend the women’s quota law and to set up a delimitation commission, Shah also claimed that the Congress deprived people of delimitation when it was in power, and it is still doing the same.
“If anyone hears this discussion carefully, one will realise that nobody opposed the constitutional amendment for women’s reservation. Everyone said ‘we welcome this move’. But all the members of the INDIA group clearly opposed women’s reservation,” Shah said at the conclusion of the debate in which about 130 MPs took part over two days.
The home minister said the Constitution provides for periodic delimitation and that includes provisions for increasing the SC and ST seats in proportion to their growing population.
“In a way, those opposing delimitation are also opposing the increase in SC and ST seats,” he said in a strong rebuttal to the opposition’s charges of a hidden agenda behind the government’s proposal of delimitation of constituencies.
Shah also said that many members in the House expressed concerns about the reasons behind initiating the move to carry out delimitation now, saying the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ mentions that after the census to be conducted post 2026, in the delimitation that follows, reservation for women will be ensured.
“We did not do this. In 1971, there was Indira Gandhi’s government and it was then that they froze it. Only by lifting the number of seats that were frozen can the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ be implemented, which is why we have brought it,” he said.
The home minister also said that there are 127 seats where there are more than 20 lakh voters and it goes against the spirit of the principle of ‘one person, one vote and one value’.
“At some places, 45 lakh voters have one representative, and at some places, six lakh voters have one representative. As a result, the value of each vote is not equal across constituencies,” he said.
Shah also dismissed the claim that the Constitution amendment bill brought for providing women reservation in legislatures was aimed at delaying caste enumeration during census.
“A meeting of the Union Cabinet in 2025 decided to carry out caste enumeration along with the census exercise and the process has already started,” he said.
The home minister also promised to bring an official amendment mentioning 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats across states if the Opposition parties support the women’s reservation bill.
“The women’s reservation amendment bill will fall flat if the Opposition does not vote in its favour. But women of the country are watching who the obstacle is,” he said.
The three bills in question are the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.
A Constitution amendment bill can be passed only by a two-thirds majority of those present in the House at the time of voting.
Going by current strength, the NDA does not have the required numbers for getting the Constitution amendment bill passed.
