NEW DELHI,16 April 2026 : In a 3-day Parliament special session, the Centre on Thursday introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, marking a significant legislative move during the ongoing special session of Parliament. Prime Minister Modi spoke on the significance of the women’s reservation.
Ever since discussions around women’s reservation began in our country, and whenever elections have taken place, those who opposed benefits for women have never been forgiven by the women of this nation, Modi said.
“India is the mother of democracy. In this journey of development, we have been given a sacred opportunity to add a new dimension,” PM Modi said.
“We are fortunate that we have got the chance to include half of the country’s population in the decision-making process of nation-building,” he added.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal initiated the debate by presenting the proposed Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026. He also tabled the Delimitation Bill, 2026, setting the stage for discussions on implementing a one-third reservation for women in legislative bodies.
The strength of the Lok Sabha will be increased to 815, of which 272 seats will be reserved for women, and neither men nor any state will suffer any loss due to the implementation of this quota, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said.
In his introductory remarks in the Lok Sabha on the three bills moved to amend the women’s quota law and set up a delimitation commission, Meghwal also said that 272 seats out of 815 in the House is the simple formula of reserving 33 per cent seats for women.
“According to the women’s reservation bill, the strength of the Lok Sabha will be increased to 815, of which women’s quota will be of 272 seats,” the minister said.
According to the proposed legislations, there will be an increase of 50 per cent in the current strength of the Lok Sabha.
“Neither men nor any state will suffer any loss after the implementation of the women’s quota,” he said.
Meghwal also said that there will be reservation for women belonging to SC and ST categories within the women’s quota in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The minister said if the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhniyam, 2023, continues in its present form, reservation of constituencies for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies would not be possible in 2029 as it would be based on the census data which would be made available after 2026. Hence, the Constitution amendment bill was brought.
“The main objective of the bill is to give women their due rights,” he said.
During the proceedings, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, adding to the legislative agenda of the day.
The introduction of the Bills triggered strong reactions from the Opposition. Congress MP KC Venugopal opposed all three legislations and formally recorded the party’s objections in the House.
“The government wants to completely hijack the Constitution,” the Congress MP said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Home Minister Amit Shah clarified that the Bills have just been introduced and the discussion on them is yet to follow.
The Lok Sabha on Thursday took up the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, for debate and passage.
The Bills were introduced after a fiery 40-minute debate, following which the opposition pressed for a division of votes to introduce the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill.
The Bill was later introduced with 251 members supporting it and 185 members voting against the introduction.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to “operationalise” the Women’s Reservation Law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a state or Union territory”, the draft bill circulated among Lok Sabha members said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said delimitation should be conducted after the census. He accused government of delaying the caste census.
On Women’s Reservation Bill, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says, “The issue is very simple. The government has a plan to redelimit the constituency and increase the number of seats in areas where the ruling party is strong. They are using women’s reservation as an excuse to bring about that change by trying to amend the constitutional amendments that they had already brought in 2023.”
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav says, “It was earlier stated that first a census would be conducted, and only after that would delimitation take place. Only then would constituencies for women be created. However, this first step in the entire process is being missed. We believe that the census must be conducted first, as it is a very important point that the government seems to be avoiding. The government itself had earlier acknowledged the importance of this step…”
Picture credit sansad tv
