-Congress Calls Govt’s Women’s Reservation Move ‘Politically Motivated’
New Delhi : The Congress party has reiterated its strong support for women’s reservation while accusing the Centre of deliberately delaying its implementation by linking it to the delimitation and census processes.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Deputy Leader of Congress Gaurav Gogoi urged the government to implement the women’s quota immediately based on the current strength of Parliament, without tying it to future exercises like delimitation.
He recalled that senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had earlier appealed to the government to roll out women’s reservation during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections itself. However, the Centre had maintained that a census followed by delimitation was a prerequisite for implementation.
Questioning the shift in the government’s position, Gogoi pointed out that it is now being suggested that both census and delimitation may take longer, effectively pushing the reservation timeline further. He argued that these processes are being used as obstacles rather than necessities.
The Congress leader alleged that the government is complicating what could otherwise be a straightforward reform, claiming that women’s reservation could have already been implemented had earlier suggestions been accepted. He also warned against linking the provision to delimitation, saying it risks undermining constitutional provisions and the federal balance.
Gogoi further accused the government of prioritising delimitation under the guise of women’s reservation, alleging political motives behind the move. He claimed that the Centre is attempting to reshape constituencies to its advantage while presenting the reform as a pro-women measure.
Raising concerns over the methodology and data used in past delimitation exercises, he cited examples such as Jammu & Kashmir and Assam to question the consistency of the process. He also criticised the government’s stance on caste census, alleging reluctance despite political pressure.
He said that it appears that the Law Minister has today merely read out the very same points regarding women’s reservation that Home Minister Amit Shah ji had articulated in the House three years ago. We stated this back then, and we reiterate it today: the Congress Party stands in support of women’s reservation. Therefore, the Modi government should simplify the process for women’s reservation so that it comes into effect immediately upon the enactment of the law.
Congress leader said that our CPP Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji, had urged at the time not to link women’s reservation with the delimitation exercise, but rather to implement it concurrently with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.However, the Home Minister had stated that the census would be conducted after the Lok Sabha elections, followed by delimitation, and only then would women’s reservation be implemented. Now, what exactly has gone wrong—or what has changed—over the course of these three years?
Concluding his remarks, Gogoi termed the proposed approach as “anti-women, anti-caste census, anti-Constitution, and against the federal structure,” urging the government to decouple women’s reservation from delimitation and implement it without delay.
