Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 16: Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the Centre's revised proposals on delimitation before introducing a fresh Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

In a letter, Kharge said he had written to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in March and April seeking an all-party meeting on the government's proposals relating to delimitation and associated issues.

"Unfortunately, these requests had not been accepted. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, then failed to secure the required 2/3 majority in Lok Sabha on 17 April, 2026 by a clear margin," he said.

Referring to recent media reports, Kharge said he had learnt that the Union government was preparing to reintroduce a revised Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the forthcoming Monsoon Session.

"I have been reading in media reports that the Union Government now proposes to reintroduce a revised (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. I would, once again, request you to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the government's revised proposals on delimitation, etc., and give us adequate time to study them in detail before they are introduced in Parliament," Kharge wrote.

His letter comes amid reports that the Centre is examining multiple options to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats for all states by 50 per cent to address concerns raised by southern states over the proposed delimitation exercise.

Southern states have expressed apprehensions that a population-based delimitation process could reduce their political representation in the Lok Sabha.

The earlier Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed in the Lok Sabha on April 17 after the government was unable to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) currently has around 300 MPs in the Lok Sabha, which has three vacancies, and requires the support of at least 360 members to pass a constitutional amendment.

The Centre has maintained that the legislation is necessary to implement the women's reservation law at an earlier date.

Under the existing legal framework, reservation for women cannot be implemented before 2034, as it is linked to the completion of the delimitation exercise following the 2027 Census.

The proposed amendment seeks to enable implementation of the women's reservation law from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections by carrying out delimitation based on the latest published Census and increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 seats to a maximum of 850.

Kharge has urged the Prime Minister to hold wider political consultations on the revised delimitation proposals before the Bill is introduced in Parliament, arguing that all parties should be given adequate time to examine the proposed changes.