“Will defeat Delimitation Bill in Lok Sabha”: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday said that the INDIA bloc MPs are opposing the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha, and will “defeat” the proposed legislations. “Our people are fighting and will defeat it in the Lok Sabha,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.Lok Sabha is continuing discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which aims to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them up to 850 seats.Opposition parties have alleged that the delimitation process, if based on the 2011 census, will reduce the southern states’ representation in the Lok Sabha. Congress MP K Suresh called the Delimitation Bill “dangerous”, alleging that it will “demolish” opposition parties. He said, “We are not opposing the women’s reservation bill. We are opposing the delimitation bill. That will be a dangerous bill and will totally demolish the opposition parties in the country.”CPI MP P Sandosh questioned the need to club delimitation, census and reservation for women’s legislators together, demanding an answer from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. P Sandosh told ANI, “The Women’s Reservation Bill is an act which was unanimously passed by the Parliament of India, all of us cooperated with the government. Unfortunately, the government is trying to misuse the Women’s Reservation Bill to hamper the federal structure of the nation. Why did you club delimitation, census, and all those things together? This is the question. And the Prime Minister should answer this question.“Meanwhile, JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha questioned the INDIA bloc over the protest against the Bills, noting that all parties unanimously passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023.“PM Modi has clearly stated in his speech that no changes have been made in the delimitation. You passed it in 2023, so what is there to protest about? How is this a threat to democracy? They don’t trust the women of this country,” the JD(U) MP said.The Congress had also issued a three-line whip for its MPs in the Lok Sabha to be present in the House for the special sitting from April 16 to 18 and support the party’s stand.To pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Centre will require a two-thirds majority of 362 seats in the Lok Sabha.