In a blistering critique, Sonia Gandhi has shifted the spotlight from women’s reservation to what she calls the government’s sinister delimitation agenda. Writing in The Hindu, the Congress stalwart questions the Modi administration’s motives behind summoning a special Parliament session amid high-stakes elections.
‘Delimitation is the real issue, not women’s quota,’ Gandhi asserts, branding it a perilous move against constitutional norms. She charges PM Modi with stalling caste census while racing to pass bills that could redraw electoral maps to his advantage.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam of 2023, adding Article 334A for one-third women’s seats in legislatures, was a consensus achievement. Yet, the government’s rider—implementation post-census and delimitation—wasn’t opposition-demanded. Kharge had called for 2024 rollout, ignored by the ruling dispensation.
Gandhi puzzles over the procrastination: if amending for 2029 implementation, why not wait weeks for all-party meets after Bengal polls? Three opposition letters for post-April 29 discussions were snubbed, forcing Modi to rally support through op-eds and events—a dictatorial style, she says.
Echoing 1993 reforms under Rajiv Gandhi, which followed years of debate to reserve seats for women in panchayats and municipalities, yielding 15 lakh female leaders, Gandhi advocates similar deliberation. Census delays have wrecked welfare schemes, sidelining millions from food security benefits.
Now, with caste census flip-flopping—once opposed in court, now embraced for 2027—government excuses ring false. Quick state surveys debunk delay fears. Uncertainty shrouds the session’s agenda; fears mount of sneaky delimitation tweaks upsetting regional balances.
Sub-quotas for marginalized women exist, but OBC demands linger. Monsoon session offers a window for broad consensus. Hastily bulldozing changes betrays democratic ethos, warns Gandhi in her impassioned plea for dialogue.
