Centre rejects Congress call to defer all-party meet on Women’s Reservation Act

Pressing for urgency, the government has rejected the Indian National Congress proposal to hold an all-party meeting on the Women’s Reservation Act after the ongoing Assembly election campaign for four States and a Union Territory ends on April 29, arguing that any delay would jeopardise the legislation’s implementation before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The Centre has proposed that the delimitation exercise essential for operationalising the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2023) be carried out on the basis of the 2011 Census rather than waiting for the ongoing enumeration. It has also proposed delinking population as the criterion for determining a State’s representation in the Lok Sabha, and instead suggested a 50% increase in the number of seats across the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The Women’s Reservation Act, when implemented, will reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.

On Thursday (March 26, 2026), Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge insisting that timely implementation of the Act is a shared responsibility of all political parties. Waiting for the Assembly polls to conclude, he said, would push back the timeline, as the process involves multiple, time-consuming steps. Any delay, he cautioned, would make it impossible to enforce the Act before the 2029 general elections.

The Congress, however, remains unmoved by Mr. Rijiju’s plea. In his response, Mr. Kharge wrote, “I simply fail to understand why the government is in such great hurry to further amend a Constitutional Amendment Act 30 months after it was initially passed.” He reiterated that holding the meeting after the election campaign would not hinder the implementation process.

Among the Opposition parties, a team of Ministers led by Home Minister Amit Shah has already held one-on-one meetings with the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Last week, the Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) also met Mr. Shah and other senior Ministers in Parliament. Multiple invitations from the government to the Congress, however, failed to bring it to the table. Mr. Kharge has consistently communicated both verbally and in writing that an all-party meeting must be convened instead of individual consultations.

On Tuesday (March 24, 2026), Mr. Kharge wrote another letter, this time signed by several Opposition leaders, including the Left parties and MPs from parties that have already met the government. The letter reiterated the demand for an all-party meeting, which, he said, should take place only after the ongoing round of Assembly elections concludes.