Delimitation Bill fundamental attack on federal structure: Opposition

This prompted sharp reactions from the Treasury ben­ches, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju countering that the Opposition only raises technical aspects and does not speak on merit of the Bill at the time of introduction.

Making it clear that his party was not against women’s reservation, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav alleged that the government wanted to “twist and distort” the Constitution. He demanded that women from OBCs and Muslim communities should also get reservation in Lok Sabha and Assemblies.

Rijiju and Shah hit back saying the Constitution does not provide for religion-based reservation. Shah said, “SP should give all seats to Muslim women”, and pointed out that caste count will be undertaken during the second phase of Census 2027.

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, RSP’s N K Premachandran, DMK’s T R Baalu, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and CPI(M)’s K Radhakrishnan also opposed the introduction of the Bill. Owaisi then recited Sahir Ludhianvi’s couplet: “Ik shahanshaah ne daulat ka sahara le kar ham garebon ki mohabbat ka udaya hai mazaq.”

DMK MPs attended the special session dressed in black as a mark of protest against the Delimitation Bill, which caught the attention of PM Narendra Modi. “Apne yahan jab koi bhi shubh kaam hota hai usko nazar na lag jae isliye kala teeka lagane ki parampara hai. Main apka dhanyavad karta hoon kala teeka lagane ke liye. (In our culture, whenever an auspicious event takes place, there is a tradition of applying a black mark to ward off the evil eye. I thank you for applying this black mark),” Modi said.

When the Bill was introduced after a fiery 40-minute debate, the PM was not in the House. The Opposition pressed for the division of votes to introduce the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill. The Bill was later introduced with 251 members supporting it and 185 voting against the introduction.

Several Opposition members, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, were seen using paper ballots to cast their votes. With the counting of ballots underway, Gandhi walked up to DMK MP Kanimozhi and after greeting her, went to Akhilesh Yadav’s seat. Gandhi and Yadav spoke for about 2-3 minutes, with SP MP Dimple Yadav also joining them.

After the Bills were introduced, Meghwal also moved a motion to suspend the proviso to Rule 66 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha in its application to the motions for taking into consideration and passing of the two Bills — the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws Bill along with the the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.

The proviso of the Rule 66 states that “the second Bill shall be taken up for consideration and passing in the House only after the first Bill has been passed by the Houses and assented to by the President.”

Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in reporting on governance, policy, and data. He covers the Prime Minister’s Office and pivotal central ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. His work primarily revolves around reporting and policy analysis. In addition to this, he authors a weekly column titled "STATE-ISTICALLY SPEAKING," which is prominently featured on The Indian Express website. In this column, he immerses readers in narratives deeply rooted in socio-economic, political, and electoral data, providing insightful perspectives on these critical aspects of governance and society. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd