Opposition for optics, not principle: Congress, SP and allies cry “haste” on Women’s Reservation Bill despite earlier demanding immediate rollout

On 3rd April (Friday), Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed that the Women Reservation Bill of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is going to be discussed in a special session of Parliament from 16th to 18th April. “We are convening the Parliament on 16th April. We will take up the Women’s Reservation Bill then. Empowerment of women is our commitment. We must come together for the empowerment of women, not play politics,” he stated. The announcement elicited strong reactions from the opposition parties. Opposition challenges and the government respond The Indian National Congress complained about a potential breach of the Model Code of Conduct and accused the centre of pursuing political gain prior to the assembly elections. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that he demanded an all-party meeting twice after 29th April. “We are not against women’s reservation. We are the first ones to bring that. It has become unanimous with our support only. These people take credit whenever they want. Everybody agrees, but at what time, how to bring it, and how to do it. Stop your games. If you had to do it, why didn’t you bring it at the beginning of this session? We discussed rural development for three days. Could we not have discussed this? You call after the election. We will all cooperate. Don’t take credit before the election,” he accused. Kharge was countered by Leader of the House and Union Minister JP Nadda, who charged, “You were not able to pass it in 30 years. We have already taken credit for it. You always see everything from the angle of politics, not humanity.” Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh likewise insisted, “Kharge had back then demanded that it should be immediately implemented, as you don’t need a census or delimitation, but they said these were necessary. They kept sleeping for 30 months. The only objective of this special session is to grab political mileage and influence the elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Could it not have been called 15 days later?” However, Rijiju conveyed that the critical issue was already discussed with more than 80% of the parties and added that the Indian National Congress had written to the government asking for the Parliament session to be organised following the assembly elections. He highlighted that the government is consulting with all parties and lawmakers. The minister asserted that their action is not arbitrary and these reservations should receive unanimous approval from the Parliament. “For us, this has nothing to do with a specific state election. We have to take it forward because we face certain limitations when looking at the time scale. The principal opposition party has written to us requesting that we convene the meeting after 29th April. We have noted down,” he expressed. Ramesh even referred to the move as another part of “Weapons of Mass Diversion,” launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which aimed “to change the narrative from his foreign policy failures and setbacks and from the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and energy crisis facing the country.” In September 2023, the new Parliament House was inaugurated by the passage of the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 that amended the Constitution to provide for one-third reservation of women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas and also provided for one-third reservation for women in…— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 25, 2026 On 5th April (Sunday) Samajwadi Party’s national president Akhilesh Yadav contended that the proposed bill’s foundation was “baseless” because it was founded on data that had been gathered 15 years earlier. He added that reservations should rely on the current proportion of women in the population to achieve proper representation. “When the count itself is wrong, how can the reservation be right? Doubts should not exist when it comes to sincere intentions,” he wrote on social media. According to him, the notion that women should receive a one-third reservation is predicated on the reality that they constitute a sizable portion of the population. However, as the premise is built on demographic information from the 2011 census, the current number of women will not serve as the cornerstone for this provision. जब गिनती ही गलत होगी तो आरक्षण कैसे सही होगा।अगर किसी काम को करने की सही मंशा होती है, तो शंका नहीं होती है। दरअसल महिला आरक्षण बिल का तो आधार ही निराधार है। आरक्षण का आधार अगर कुल सीटों का 1/3 (एक तिहाई) है तो इसका मतलब हुआ कि ये गणित का विषय है और गणित का आधार अंक होते हैं,… pic.twitter.com/3I8c7lfOnQ— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 5, 2026 “That is why our biggest objection is this: First conduct the census, then raise the issue of women’s reservation. A government that doesn’t even want to count women, how will it possibly give them a reservation? We will not allow the BJP and their allies, who want to deceive women, to play this trickery with them. In short, this is what we say to the government: Until there is a census, there will be no debate on women’s reservation,” Yadav announced. Manickam Tagore, the Congress whip in the Lok Sabha and MP from Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar, stressed that the Bharatiya Janata Party intends to deny OBC (Other Backwards Classes) representation in the women’s quota. “Because a caste-based census would provide clear data on the OBC population, it would lead to demands for fair representation of OBCs within the women’s quota. BJP’s hidden agenda is to deny the OBC women the right to have a reservation in Parliament. That’s why they advanced the delimitation,” he alleged while talking to The New Indian Express. He further submitted that the estimated 50% increase in lower house seats could lead to an inequality in representation, arguing that although southern states might receive more members, their relative power in Parliament might decrease in comparison to northern states. Notably, PM Modi has already assured that the Southern states will not lose any seats in the forthcoming delimitation exercise. From wanting swift implementation to resisting it: The multiple U-turns of the opposition The opposition, headed by the grand old party, has begun fearmongering that several states, especially those in the south, northeast and northwest, might face “dangerous consequences” from a “rushed attempt” to amend the Constitution for delimitation and the aforementioned reservation. Congress, which is lashing out at the ruling party for taking credit for the bill, not only boasted about it as its brainchild but also criticised the government for not putting it into effect promptly after its introduction in 2023. Interestingly, the party is currently exploring strategies to attack the government, maintaining that the reservation cannot be carried out before the delimitation and census. Meanwhile, it had consistently indicated that there was no link among the trio previously. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, remarked that the bill could be adopted the next morning as there is a consensus among all parties. “All you have to mention is that 33% of the seats will be reserved for women in both the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha. It is very straightforward. There is nothing beyond that. If the BJP were genuinely committed to this, that is what they would implement. There is no relationship between granting women reservations and the census or delimitation. The three are not tied.” He reiterated this, regularly blaming the government for unnecessarily prolonging the enactment for 10 years upon the completion of the delimitation and census. The sentiment was echoed by other leaders as well. “We demand that the women’s reservation bill that has been passed recently should be implemented from the 2024 elections. Whatever hurdles have been put by the BJP government, the first census will happen, then delimitation will be done, and then reservation will be given. We want these conditions to be removed. We want the bill to be implemented immediately,” stated President of All India Mahila Congress, Alka Lamba. “We want the census to be done, but connecting the census with women’s reservation is injustice,” she added at the time. The former head of Congress, Sonia Gandhi, who was a Lok Sabha MP during that period, expressed that the women of the country have been waiting for their political responsibilities for the last 13 years, and the government is instructing them to wait for additional years. “How many more years should they endure this? Is this behaviour towards Indian women appropriate? Congress demands instant implementation of the bill,” she declared. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra similarly insisted that the government was appropriating the credit for the bill yet had no intention of enforcing it for at least ten years. She had proclaimed, “We, the women of India, do not have any more time to lose. It is our right to participate in the political process. I demand that our work be appreciated and respected.” “We won’t back down on our demand: Immediate implementation of the bill, with provision for reservation for OBC women,” the party shared, touting its “15 press conferences in 15 cities to expose the Modi government” on the matter. The Congress party held 15 press conferences in 15 cities to expose the Modi govt's double standards on the women's reservation bill. We won't back down on our demand-Immediate implementation of the Bill, with provision for reservation for OBC women. pic.twitter.com/nhXSgwRrAG— Congress (@INCIndia) September 29, 2023 Congress spokesperson, Supriya Shrinate, hit out at the government, alleging that the bill would not come into force until 2029 owing to census and delimitation and this “jumla” has been put forth out of fear of losing in the 2024 general elections. Other political parties were also engaged in levelling similar allegations against the government, stating that it was not granting the rightful dues owed to women. According to Sanjay Singh, an AAP Rajya Sabha MP and accused in the Delhi excise policy scam, the reservation is nothing but a ruse, as the government has always fallen short of its promises. “The women have been misled by them this time. This is their fresh jumla. We do not even know how long it will take for the bill to be passed, or if it will ever be approved,” he argued. Another AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister, Atishi Marlena, termed the bill as a means of fooling women, as the reservation was not for the 2024 general election and would instead depend on the census and delimitation. Hence, it would not be enacted for at least the next few years. The All India Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP, notorious for her shrill voice, uncouth antics and divisive politics, also described the bill as a “jumla,” charging that the dates for the census and delimitation were unspecified. Therefore, the bill could not be executed even by 2029, mocking that it is the “Women Reservation Rescheduling Bill” and should be named accordingly. Conclusion The opposition, which has a track record of opposing simply for the sake of it, has resumed its shenanigans. They have accused the government of misleading women by linking the reservation to the census and delimitation. Now, the latter has made the announcement they sought. However, they have found new ways to object by retracting their earlier statements and crying about the assembly elections. India is a vast country, and elections are held every year in different states. Thus, pivotal decisions cannot be held hostage to the electoral process. Furthermore, the same parties furiously reject “One nation, one election,” arguing that it would benefit the BJP. Thus, there is truly no reasoning with them, as their actions are not based on merit but guided by political gimmicks.