Rijiju reaches out to Rahul on delimitation bill

Speculation grew that the government may revive the Constitution amendment bill that was defeated in the last session

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday revived its bid to secure Parliament’s nod for its ambitious delimitation legislation that proposes to raise Lok Sabha’s strength by over 50% and implement one-third reservation for women from 2029, and appeared keen to press ahead despite LoP Rahul Gandhi rejecting its outreach for support.Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju raised the issue during his nearly 50-minute meeting with Rahul, who reiterated the Opposition’s stand that the proposed move would allow the government to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies to the NDA’s advantage in the next elections.The meeting was part of the government’s outreach to break the Parliament impasse, which has seen little business due to protests over multiple issues. However, speculation grew that the government may revive the Constitution amendment bill that was defeated in the last session.The timing remains uncertain. While a government functionary said it could be introduced before Aug 13, when the session is scheduled to end, official sources indicated Parliament may be reconvened after Aug 15 instead of being prorogued.There are indications that the government will push the Foreign Contributions Regulation (Amendment) Bill, criticised by Opposition parties, NGOs, Muslim organisations and church bodies. On Tuesday, several of these groups sought the support of US lawmaker Riley Moore.At Wednesday’s meeting, Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. According to sources, Congress conveyed that the rationale behind both the legislations was flawed.Venugopal said, “Minister Kiren Rijiju came to discuss delimitation and asked whether the Opposition’s stand had changed. We said we stick to the stand we took in the budget session… It has not changed.”Asked about the FCRA amendment bill, Venugopal said, “We will not allow the government to pass such a draconian bill.”On speculation that Rijiju hinted at a special session for the delimitation bill, Congress sources said he made no such suggestion. During the previous session too, the government had reconvened Parliament for three days after the scheduled end by not proroguing it. Having suffered the embarrassment of the earlier bill being defeated after securing only 298 votes against the required 352, the government appears to have strengthened its numbers for another attempt.Its position has improved since then as 26 Opposition MPs from Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and Sena UBT have joined the NDA, while DMK’s ties with Congress have deteriorated after the latter aligned with Vijay-led TVK in Tamil Nadu.

The possibility of DMK, which had strongly opposed the bill earlier, extending support has increased after the party indicated it could back the proposal if southern states’ interests are protected. To allay such concerns, home minister Amit Shah had assured LS during the earlier debate that every state’s seats would increase by 50%, preserving their existing share in the House.There is a view that the government may incorporate the home minister’s assurance into the bill to win over parties such as DMK. NCP (SP) has also said a proposal guaranteeing the same increase in seats for every state should not pose a problem.