New Delhi, August 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has responded to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s criticism over the implementation of women’s reservation, pointing to the constitutional provisions of the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and the challenges surrounding delimitation.
In a series of posts on X, Rijiju said the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies is provided under the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
He said the constitutional provisions would take effect after a delimitation exercise based on census figures published after 2023. Rijiju noted that the census exercise following 2026 is currently underway but could take substantial time for completion, particularly because of the inclusion of caste enumeration.
According to the minister, this could delay implementation of the women’s quota beyond the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and potentially until at least the 2034 general elections if an early delimitation exercise is not undertaken.
Rijiju argued that if the government intends to implement the one-third reservation for women in the 2029 general elections, delimitation would have to be conducted at the earliest using the latest available published census figures.
He also referred to the proposed Delimitation Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide the legislative mechanism for implementing the reservation using the latest available census data. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in April alongside the proposed legislative framework but failed to secure the required two-thirds majority and was defeated.
“Therefore, to implement the women’s reservation in the 2029 general elections, the delimitation exercise needs to be undertaken at the earliest, based on the latest available Census figures, as published,” Rijiju said.
The minister’s response came after Gandhi said the women’s reservation Bill had been unanimously passed by Parliament in 2023 with the full support of the Congress. Gandhi also accused the government of unnecessarily linking implementation of the quota with delimitation, arguing that the legislation already enjoyed broad political support.
The exchange followed Rijiju’s earlier assertion that the Congress should have “no difficulty” supporting the women’s reservation legislation in Parliament.
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