Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leaders in Kerala on Thursday once again voiced strong opposition to the delimitation provisions included in the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill, describing the move as an “attack on democracy”. The issue has sparked fresh political debate ahead of its proposed introduction in Parliament.

Opposition raises concerns over delimitation

Several leaders, including Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, UDF MP N K Premachandran and CPI leader Annie Raja, stated that while they support reservations for women, they cannot accept the inclusion of delimitation provisions within the proposed legislation.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Venugopal said, “The delimitation provisions in the bill will be defeated by us.” He argued that these provisions are aimed at undermining democratic principles.

Questions over delay and intent

Venugopal questioned why the central government had not acted earlier after the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023. He noted that his party had supported implementing reservations within the existing 543-member Parliament.

“We back then wanted the reservation to be implemented in the 543-member Parliament. But they imposed conditions like census and delimitation for implementing it,” he said.

He further claimed that such provisions would worsen what he described as the continued neglect of Kerala.

Allegations of political motive

The Congress leader described the delimitation clause as a “hidden trap” and suggested that its timing was linked to upcoming Assembly elections in two states. He also alleged that similar exercises had already been carried out in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir in an “arbitrary” manner, and that the Centre was now attempting to extend this across the country.

Criticism of proposed constitutional amendment

In a separate post on social media platform X, Venugopal said he opposed in the Lok Sabha the introduction of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which seeks to increase the strength of the Lower House from 543 to 850 seats.

He described the proposal as a “patently illegal and unconstitutional move” and called for its withdrawal.

“In 2023, we supported the implementation of women’s reservations from the 2024 general elections itself, but then the government did not accede to our demands. Now, they are using women’s reservations to bring in a dangerous delimitation exercise to gerrymander the entire country as they did in J and K and Assam,” he said.

“A bill that strikes at the heart of our constitutionally guaranteed federal structure must be withdrawn,” he added.

Similar concerns from other leaders

Premachandran echoed similar concerns, arguing that the proposed delimitation could significantly alter political representation. He claimed that more than 200 additional seats would go to north Indian states, compared to only around 60 for southern states.

“The intention behind it is to allow the BJP to rule over the country with the overwhelming majority it will have from the north Indian states while isolating the south Indian states,” he alleged.

CPI leader Annie Raja also criticised the move, stating that the delimitation provisions could undermine both democracy and the federal structure of the country under the guise of providing reservation for women.

Upcoming parliamentary session

A special three-day session of Parliament is scheduled from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, widely known as the Women’s Reservation Act, are expected to be taken up.

The legislation mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, with implementation planned for 2029.

The proposed amendments also aim to expand the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats. This increase is intended to facilitate the implementation of the reservation law ahead of the 2029 general elections, following a delimitation exercise based on the most recent published census.

Agency inputs