NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the government's revised Bills on delimitation before they are introduced in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon Session.
In his letter, Kharge recalled that the Congress had repeatedly sought broader consultations on the issue earlier this year.
He said that throughout March and April 2026, he had written to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister requesting an all-party meeting on the government's delimitation proposals, but those requests were not accepted.
Kharge also referred to the fate of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which failed to secure the constitutionally mandated two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026.
"All of March and April, 2026, I had been writing to the Hon'ble Minister of Parliamentary Affairs requesting that the Union Government convene an All Party Meeting to discuss its proposals regarding delimitation, etc. Unfortunately, these requests had not been accepted. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, then failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha by a clear margin," Kharge wrote.
The Congress chief said media reports indicate that the Centre is planning to reintroduce a revised version of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
"In light of these reports, I would once again request you to convene an All Party Meeting to discuss the Government's revised proposals on delimitation and related issues, and provide adequate time for political parties to examine them in detail before they are introduced in Parliament," he said.
The letter was shared by Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh and has also been posted by Kharge and the Congress party on X.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was not passed by the Lok Sabha in April after failing to secure the required support.
The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to advance the implementation of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. It also provides for a substantial increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha and lays the groundwork for the next nationwide delimitation exercise, which would redistribute parliamentary seats among states for the first time since 1976.
Under the proposal, the strength of the Lok Sabha would increase from 550 seats to 850 seats, making it one of the most far-reaching electoral reforms in recent years.
--IANS
