Opposition is opposing women's quota, not its implementation: Amit Shah
Opposition is opposing women's quota, not its implementation: Amit Shah
M.U.H
17/04/202614
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday accused the Opposition of indirectly opposing women’s reservation, saying parties were backing the idea in principle but resisting its implementation through “ifs and buts”.
Replying to a debate on amendments to the women’s quota law and the Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha ahead of voting, Shah said, “No one has objected to women’s reservation. But if we listen carefully, all members of the INDIA bloc have opposed it using ‘ifs and buts’.”
Shah also linked opposition to delimitation with resistance to expanding representation for marginalised groups. “Those opposing delimitation are actually opposing an increase in SC and ST seats,” he said.
Rejecting concerns of a North-South divide over delimitation, Shah asserted that southern states will have exactly the same rights in the Lok Sabha as northern states. “Even a small Union Territory like Lakshadweep has the same rights as Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. The country should not be divided through such narratives,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, Shah accused the party of historically stalling delimitation.
“In 1972, Indira Gandhi’s government increased seats from 525 to 545 and then froze them. In 1976, during the Emergency, the 42nd Amendment imposed a ban on delimitation. It was Congress then that deprived people of delimitation, and it is doing the same today,” he said.
Strengthening his case for delimitation, Shah said disparities in voter representation violate democratic principles. “There are 127 constituencies with more than 20 lakh voters. In some places, one MP represents 45 lakh people, while in others, it is just six lakh. This goes against ‘one person, one vote, one value’,” he said.
Shah reiterated that the women’s reservation law -- officially known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam -- would be implemented after delimitation following the next Census. “We did not create this situation. The freeze on seats since 1971 made this provision necessary,” he said.
Calling delimitation a constitutional necessity, he said the proposed exercise will rationalise voters in every constituency. “The Delimitation Commission ensures equal representation. After a population increase of 120 per cent, uniformity cannot be maintained without it,” he added.
The Home Minister sought Opposition support for delimitation, assuring equitable representation. “I assure them that if they support us for delimitation, the value of each vote will be equal across constituencies,” he said.
Explaining the government’s approach, Shah said seat expansion would prevent any loss to states.
“If we implement women’s reservation based on 543 seats, only 13 seats would be reserved for women in Tamil Nadu. If based on the 2011 Census, seats would reduce by six. But we are not doing that — we are increasing seats by 50 per cent for every state,” he said, adding that the government is ready to bring an official amendment to that effect if the Opposition agrees.
On concerns around caste census, Shah sought to clear the air. “To remove any confusion among 140 crore Indians, I want to make it clear that the Narendra Modi government has decided to conduct a caste census along with the 2026 Census,” he said.
He added that the decision followed consultations after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the 2021 Census. “Now that this decision has been made, it is certain that when the Census takes place, a caste census will be included. There should be no doubt about this,” he said.
