Historic Women's Reservation Bill Sparks Debate in Indian Parliament

In a decisive move, Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc gathered at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber early Friday to deliberate on a strategy for the Lok Sabha's upcoming discussions. The main focus is the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, aiming to reserve 33% of seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.

On Thursday, the Lok Sabha witnessed an intense 12-hour session scrutinizing amendments to the women's reservation bill, with pivotal clauses mandating its implementation despite census timing. The debated bills, having passed with 251 AYES, now await progression through parliamentary hurdles as Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah advocated strongly for the amendments.

Concerns emerged from opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Asaduddin Owaisi over new seat allocations that they fear could diminish southern states' representation. However, Minister Amit Shah countered, providing detailed statistics to affirm that southern states will maintain, or gain, a fair share of parliamentary presence.

(With inputs from agencies.)