Women's Groups Demand Independent Reservation Implementation

More than 60 women's organizations have petitioned Parliament to implement women's reservation unlinked to Census and delimitation procedures. The petition garners over 500 signatures and critiques the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, for tying reservation to population data.

The petition argues that the 33 per cent reservation for women, enacted in 2023, can be implemented immediately without awaiting new census data. It suggests that if linked to population, a 48-49 per cent reservation should reflect women's demographic share. The signatories urged Parliament to focus the Special Session on women's reservation exclusively.

The groups demand removing Census-related conditions in the 2023 law, proportional seat distribution among states, and campaign funding for marginalized women. They also recommend a constitutional amendment to extend reservation to the Rajya Sabha and caution against premature delimitation discussions before updated Census data release.

(With inputs from agencies.)