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Kharge seeks meet as govt moves to delink women's quota from census

March 17, 2026 4 min read Polity & Governance Social Issues GS2
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What Happened

  • The central government is preparing a constitutional amendment to delink the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2023) from the requirement of completing the next Census and delimitation exercise.
  • In its current form, the Act ties the commencement of 33% women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to post-Census delimitation, placing the earliest possible implementation around 2031.
  • The proposed amendment could advance implementation to as early as 2029, bypassing the Census-delimitation prerequisite.
  • Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju demanding an all-party meeting be convened before any amendment is moved in Parliament.
  • Congress and other Opposition parties argue the amendment requires broad political consensus and should not be introduced without prior consultation with all parties.

Static Topic Bridges

The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam)

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, passed unanimously by Parliament in September 2023, inserts Articles 330A and 332A into the Constitution to reserve one-third of all directly elected seats in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly for women. Reservation is also mandated within the SC/ST quota seats on a rotational basis. The Act provides that this reservation shall remain in force for 15 years from the date of commencement and will be rotated after each delimitation exercise.

  • The Act is rooted in Articles 330 and 332, which govern reservation of seats for SCs and STs in Parliament and assemblies; Articles 330A and 332A mirror this structure for women.
  • The reservation applies only to directly elected seats, not to the Rajya Sabha or legislative councils.
  • Implementation is explicitly conditioned on: (i) the completion of the Census after the commencement of the Act, and (ii) the subsequent delimitation exercise under Article 82 (for Lok Sabha) and Article 170 (for state assemblies).
  • The Bill was numbered the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 when introduced; it became the 106th Amendment after Presidential assent on 29 September 2023.

Connection to this news: The proposed amendment seeks to surgically remove the Census-delimitation precondition, allowing the reservation to take effect on existing constituency boundaries without awaiting new population data — a structural departure from the original Act.

Delimitation and Its Constitutional Basis

Delimitation is the process of redrawing boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, carried out by the Delimitation Commission constituted under the Delimitation Act. Article 82 mandates readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after each Census; Article 170 does the same for state assemblies. The last delimitation was completed in 2008, based on the 2001 Census. The freeze on seat numbers under the 84th Amendment (2002) extended the existing constituency map until 2026.

  • The Delimitation Commission is constituted by the President and its orders have the force of law; they cannot be called in question before any court (Article 329).
  • Census 2021 was postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Census 2027 is now the scheduled exercise.
  • Delimitation directly affects women's reservation because seats are reserved on a rotational basis — without fixed constituency boundaries, a rotation mechanism cannot be operationalised.
  • Decoupling reservation from delimitation would mean women's seats are reserved within existing (2008-delimited) constituencies, raising concerns about fairness and equal representation.

Connection to this news: Delinking the Act from Census/delimitation is procedurally straightforward but politically significant — it alters the foundational design of the reservation mechanism, requiring fresh constitutional amendment by a special majority.

Women's Political Representation: Historical Arc and the 73rd/74th Amendments

India's record on women in elected legislatures has historically been weak at the national level despite stronger outcomes at the local body level. The 73rd Amendment (1992) and 74th Amendment (1992) inserted Articles 243D and 243T respectively, mandating not less than one-third reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies — a provision that has been in operation for over three decades. Several states have since raised the quota to 50%.

  • As of 2024, women constitute approximately 13-14% of Lok Sabha members, well below the global average of ~26%.
  • The 73rd and 74th Amendments are among the most successfully implemented constitutional mandates, with over 1.4 million women elected to panchayati raj institutions.
  • Bills proposing women's reservation in Parliament were introduced in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2008, all lapsing without passage — making the 2023 Act a historic legislative milestone after nearly 27 years of attempts.
  • The OBC reservation question — whether women from OBC communities should get a separate sub-quota — has been the perennial political roadblock.

Connection to this news: The all-party meeting demand reflects a lesson learnt from the Panchayati Raj experience: major structural changes in reservation design require political buy-in across party lines to ensure smooth implementation and constitutional durability.

Key Facts & Data

  • 106th Amendment — passed September 2023; inserts Articles 330A and 332A
  • 33% — proportion of seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and Delhi assembly
  • 15 years — duration for which the reservation will operate from commencement
  • 128th Amendment Bill — the bill number when introduced in Parliament
  • Current women's representation in Lok Sabha: approximately 13-14% (as of 18th Lok Sabha, 2024)
  • 73rd Amendment (1992) — Article 243D: minimum one-third reservation for women in panchayats
  • 74th Amendment (1992) — Article 243T: minimum one-third reservation in urban local bodies
  • Census 2021 postponed; Census 2027 now scheduled
  • Last delimitation completed: 2008 (based on 2001 Census)
  • Article 82 — readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after each Census
  • Article 170 — readjustment of state assembly seats after each Census