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NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government’s proposed move to amend the women’s reservation law and expand the number of parliamentary seats could violate the Model Code of Conduct and have “grave consequences”. He also asserted that the opposition will move unitedly on this.Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge said the issue required deeper consultation and that the opposition would respond collectively. “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,” Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The Congress chief also questioned the timing of the special Parliament session scheduled from April 16 to 18, alleging it was aimed at political gain. “The Modi government is convening Parliament’s sittings with the sole intention of securing political advantage and is keen to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill in utmost haste,” Kharge said.He noted that the proposed amendments could significantly impact India’s electoral system and therefore warranted “very deep deliberation”. “Based on the information we have received so far, the government wants to implement women’s reservation starting from the 2029 elections … it wants to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816,” Kharge said.Raising concerns over the delimitation exercise, he added, “This delimitation proposal will have serious consequences. Therefore, there is a need for very deep deliberation on delimitation.”Kharge further alleged that the government had ignored the opposition’s request to hold an all-party meeting after the conclusion of polling in West Bengal. “This constitutes a violation of the Model Code of Conduct … we harbour no expectation that [the Election Commission] will even take cognisance of these violations,” he said.The meeting, attended by senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, discussed the government’s proposal on women’s reservation, delimitation, and the broader political context ahead of upcoming elections.In a Facebook post, Rahul Gandhi said, “The Congress remains steadfastly committed to ensuring women’s empowerment and social justice.”The government is expected to introduce bills during the special session to implement the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 general elections and increase Lok Sabha seats, with a significant share reserved for women.
