Kalaburagi (Karnataka) [India], October 21(ANI): Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday asserted that the government could implement 33 per cent reservation using the existing strength of the House without waiting for delimitation, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misleading the public over women’s reservation.
“You could implement the one-third reservation for women right now. Given the existing strength of the House or the current delimitation, you could simply allocate one-third of those seats. What is stopping you?” said Kharge.
Kharge alleged that the government was using the issue to malign the opposition and claimed that the Congress had supported the legislation earlier.
Passed in a special session of Parliament in September 2023, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam amended the Constitution to reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly for women.
“This is purely a ploy to defame others, to malign the opposition. If we were to oppose it, why would we try to pass the law earlier? This is just another one of PM Modi’s tactics; he wants to push this agenda forward while deceiving the public with lies,” Kharge said.
Earlier, Mallikarjun Kharge has written a fourth letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 16, seeking an immediate all-party meeting to discuss proposals on delimitation before they are finalised and brought to Parliament., 2026 and defeated on April 17, 2026, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026.
He noted that the government had earlier introduced a Delimitation Constitutional Amendment Bill at short notice in April without consensus, which was defeated in Parliament on April 17 after failing to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.
“You may kindly recall that I had first written to you on April 11, 2026, to convene an All-Party meeting before bringing any Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation. You did not do so. Thereafter, you made the Bills public on the late evening of April 14, 2026 and convened a special session on April 16, 2026. The Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation failed to muster the necessary two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026, by a decisive margin,” said Kharge.
Pointing to sustained efforts by the opposition, Kharge said the Congress leadership has repeatedly sought cross-party consultation. He noted that the latest letter is his fourth formal attempt to push the executive toward structured consultation before bringing fresh legislation.
“Thereafter, on July 16, 2026 and August 27, 2026, I wrote to you again, repeating our request for an All-Party meeting. I am now doing so for a fourth time,” he said. (ANI)
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