All-party meet on 33% women's quota after April 29 not feasible: Govt; Congress insists there is enough time for early rollout

Congress seeks to know why government is in 'great hurry' to further amend the law

New Delhi: The government on Thursday conveyed to the Congress that holding an all-party meeting after April 29 “will delay” the rolling out of 33% women’s quota in legislatures and asked it to “come on board” at the earliest but the latter did not find merit in it, saying there is sufficient time to implement it for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge once again asking for a meeting for discussing the issue of bringing a bill to amend the Constitution to allow early implementation of women’s quota in Parliament and Assemblies.

However, Kharge, who along with other Opposition leaders had earlier demanded an all-party meeting after April 29 following the conclusion of Assembly elections, responded that he simply fails to understand why the government is in “such great hurry” to further amend the law 30 months after it was initially passed without agreeing to their demand for early rollout.

“We are extremely busy with the election campaign. That is the reason why we had suggested that the meeting be held after the election campaigning is over. This will, in no way, affect the implementation of the amended Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, from the 2029 Lok Sabha election onwards,” Kharge said in his reply, reiterating the demand for an all-party meeting.

In his letter, Rijiju recalled his earlier meetings with Kharge as also the letters he wrote but said the demand for an all-party meeting only after April 29 would “delay the implementation” of the 33% quota, saying that the process involves “several time-bound and intricate steps, including delimitation process and other necessary procedural and administrative measures”.

These processes are “inherently time-consuming and any delay at this stage may adversely impact” the feasibility of implementing the provisions of the Act in time for the 2029 elections, sources said, quoting from the letter. Rijiju said the government has already undertaken consultations with various parties and given Kharge’s position as the leader of the “principal Opposition party”, his cooperation and participation are “crucial".

He urged Kharge to extend his support and “come on board in this collective endeavour, so that the commitment made to the women of our nation is fulfilled in both letter and spirit”, sources said.

The existing law mandates a delimitation of constituencies following a Census conducted after 2026 for the implementation of the 33% quota, which may make it impossible to roll it out for the 2029 Lok Sabha election. In this context, the government is mulling over the option of making Census 2011 the base for the delimitation, which will help in its early rollout.

However, the government would need the support of the Opposition, as it does not have two-thirds majority in Parliament, which is required for amending the Constitution.

The government has been trying to build a consensus and has requested meetings with parties but Congress and other Opposition parties have insisted on an all-party meeting after April 29. While Congress, Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) have refused to meet government representatives individually, leaders of Samajwadi Party, DMK, BJD, YSR Congress, AIMIM, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have met government managers on the issue.