The Congress president also said that the Centre was keen on passing the Constitutional Amendment Bill in "utmost haste". Photo: @kharge
Kharge flags ‘grave consequences’ in Government’s proposed delimitation exercise
Mallikarjun Kharge alleges rushed constitutional changes and Parliament timing violations, flags electoral risks and state-level concerns over delimitation
The Centre’s proposed delamination exercise aimed at implementing the women’s reservation law will have “grave consequences” and require comprehensive deliberation, said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday (April 10). He further stated that Congress collaborate with other opposition parties to chalk out a roadmap on how to move forward "unitedly" on this issue.
Allegations over Parliament timing
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Delhi, Kharge further alleged that the Centre’s move to convene the sitting of Parliament from April 16 is solely aimed at securing political advantage, which is a “violation” of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
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The Congress president also said that the Centre was keen on passing the Constitutional Amendment Bill in "utmost haste". Elaborating further, he argued that the proposed amendments are of such a nature that they can potentially have a profound impact on the country's electoral system.
Opposition strategy and leadership presence
"Therefore, following this meeting, we will formulate a collective strategy by holding discussions on these issues with our colleagues in the opposition as well. We will move forward unitedly," added Kharge.
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The meeting, chaired by Kharge, was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Sachin Pilot, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, among others.
Bills, delimitation concerns, and electoral impact
The development comes days ahead of the three-day sitting of Parliament, where the government is expected to introduce legislation to operationalise the Women’s Reservation Act ahead of the 2029 general elections and expand the Lok Sabha to 816 seats, including 273 earmarked for women.
The Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared the draft bills earlier this week, setting the stage for their introduction during the upcoming session, reported PTI.
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Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had warned that a hurried delimitation process could have “dangerous consequences”, stating, “We do not want any disturbance in the present differentials and relative strength.”
The party has also flagged concerns that changes to constituency boundaries could disproportionately affect states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, urging caution in handling what it described as a sensitive constitutional matter.
On West Asia ceasefire
Separately, the party is expected to take stock of the evolving situation in West Asia, including the recently announced two-week ceasefire involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
It has been sharply critical of the Centre’s handling of the crisis, describing Pakistan’s role in facilitating the truce as a “severe setback” to Modi’s “highly personalised diplomacy”, and questioned why the Prime Minister was not visible during the negotiations. (With agency inputs)