Women’s quota row: Delay may derail 2029 rollout, Rijiju tells Kharge

New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pushing back against suggestions that the government had bypassed the Opposition on the constitutional amendment to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. In his letter, Rijiju said that any further delay risked the women’s reservation law missing the 2029 general elections.

In a two-page letter responding to a communication Kharge had addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, Rijiju said the government had been in active consultation with parties across the political spectrum since March 19, holding formal meetings with the Samajwadi Party, DMK, YSRCP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and BJD, and reaching out to TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Saugata Roy.

Rijiju said telephonic conversations had also been held between March 23 and April 2 with leaders of AAP, RJD, CPI(M), IUML, JMM, BRS and several other parties, with many already conveying support.

“We are in 2026 and if we don’t act now, it is possible that women’s reservation may not be implemented in time for the 2029 elections,” Rijiju wrote, adding that the constitutional amendment is the most “appropriate and logical” moment to move forward. He said a letter seeking detailed discussions had been sent to Kharge as early as March 16.

The minister said the government remained open to further discussions, adding that the Rajya Sabha debate would itself give states an opportunity to voice their views. Rijiju said this in response to the Opposition’s demand for state-level consultation before any amendment.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, passed in a special session of Parliament in September 2023, reserves 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Its implementation is contingent on delimitation, which has not yet been completed. The government is bringing in three constitutional amendments in a special session of Parliament to delink them from the delimitation process and base it on the Census 2011.