New Delhi, India, August 8 (ANI): An exchange between Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi turned into a political skirmish on Saturday, with Rijiju insisting that the Women’s Reservation Bill cannot come into force before the 2034 general elections because it hinges on a delimitation exercise tied to post-2026 census data, while Gandhi argued that the law was passed unanimously three years ago and should be implemented “without any conditions.”
Their back-and-forth was triggered after a video posted by Rahul Gandhi that had nothing to do with delimitation on its face. In it, he argued that India’s politics should be built around bringing women’s voices to the forefront.
He said, “The energy of India’s women is trapped. It is not allowed to express itself. It is not allowed to imagine. For me, no country can be successful if its women are not expressing themselves. And I think a lot of my politics, and a lot of what politics should be in this country, is about making people understand that our country is stunted and incomplete without the expression of women.”
He explained that this meant more than professional success, but also “being able to express in their houses, walk the streets comfortably, them putting a point of view that many don’t agree with, questioning their parents, husbands, brothers.”
He said that a certain amount of freedom from patriarchy and the “rigid control” men exert over women is required if India wants to develop.
“It has been assaulted and put in the back seat, and we have to bring back women into conversation and allow them to express,” he said.
Rijiju seized on the video, turning Gandhi’s remarks into a challenge, saying he hoped Congress would now unconditionally support the women’s quota bill.
“This seems to be a positive message from the Congress Party. There’s a visible change of heart in Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji about women. Now, I hope the Congress Party will support the Women’s Reservation Bill unconditionally,” he posted on X.
Gandhi responded that Congress has already supported the Women’s Reservation Bill of 2023, questioning why it should now be linked to delimitation.
“Mr. Rijiju, who would know better than you, as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, that the Women’s Reservation Bill 2023 has already been passed unanimously, with the full support of the Congress,” he wrote, before turning the question back to Rijiju: “Why has it still not been implemented even after three years, and why do you now want to unnecessarily link it to delimitation?”
Rijiju responded with a breakdown of the reasons behind linking delimitation to women’s quota. He pointed out that the reservation, enacted through the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, takes effect only after a delimitation exercise based on census figures published after 2026. He said the caste-based census now underway could push that timeline well past the next election.
“Rahul Ji, you know it very well that the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People and Legislative Assembly of the State is provided in the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam). It shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken based on the census figures published after the year 2023, which means the census figures published after the year 2026,” he said.
“The exercise for publishing the census figures after the year 2026 is currently underway; however, this may take substantial time due to the caste-based census to be finally published. In view of this, it may result in considerable delay in the implementation of women’s reservation, at least not before the 2034 general elections,” Rijiju added.
Explaining further, he said, “Therefore, to implement the women’s reservation at the next general elections in 2029, the delimitation exercise needs to be undertaken at the earliest, based on the latest available census figures, as published.”
“The implementation methodology has been proposed under the Delimitation Bill 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha along with the amendments to the Constitution. However, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was introduced for this purpose, has been defeated,” he said.
Rijiju also attacked Congress for having no women in the Karnataka cabinet, stating, “Also, a reminder to Rahul Gandhi Ji, there’s no woman in Karnataka DK Shivakumar’s Cabinet! This raises serious questions over Congress’s stand on 33% women quota.”
The Women’s Reservation Bill, or the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserves 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies but is constitutionally tied to a delimitation exercise based on post-2026 census figures before it can take effect.
In April, the Centre faced a setback after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha to increase the strength of the lower house to 850 seats, was defeated. Congress and other opposition parties have backed the women’s reservation law in principle while continuing to oppose the government’s proposed delimitation exercise.
As the exchange spread beyond the two leaders, several Congress figures weighed in with their own criticism of Rijiju’s stance.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate accused the Centre of manufacturing the very delay Rijiju was citing.
“I would like to remind Kiren Rijiju that the timeline he mentioned in his post, stating that women’s reservation would only be possible by 2034, is a situation of your own making. You were the one who attached conditions to women’s reservation, insisting on a census first, followed by delimitation. Why did you impose these conditions? You could have simply granted reservations to women with honest intent. Why didn’t you make that happen? Because you do not consider women to be equal stakeholders,” she said.
Congress MP Pawan Khera questioned the government’s commitment to the legislation altogether, pointing to its origins under the previous UPA government.
“Who brought the Women’s Reservation Bill? Who introduced it? Sonia ji introduced it in 2012. Their intentions are flawed. First, let Parliament function, then we can discuss the rest. Everyone knows who is sabotaging the Women’s Reservation Bill,” Khera said.
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar also responded to Rijiju, asserting his party’s ownership of the legislation.
“We are the ones who piloted the women’s reservation bill. We will give more strength to women. Kiren Rijiju need not worry about the Congress party,” Shivakumar said.
The exchange, amid the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, underscored the deadlock between the Centre and several opposition parties over the proposed delimitation exercise. (ANI)
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