Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday (Oct 20) in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, that he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 21 and explain the Opposition's concerns over three issues: the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the proposed delimitation exercise, and the non-implementation of women's reservation.

"I don't want to talk about politics today. I have personally written a letter to the Prime Minister, and he has two letters from me," Kharge told reporters. "I will explain everything to him tomorrow, including the harm caused by the SIR of electoral rolls, the implications of the delimitation exercise they are undertaking, and the issue of reservation for women. Why are they not implementing it? I will explain all these things tomorrow."

Kharge has written to the Prime Minister four times seeking an all-party meeting before any new delimitation proposal is finalised; in his October 16 letter he also flagged what he called an unprecedented 64-day delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session, which was adjourned sine die on August 13.

Responding on October 19, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had repeatedly sought Congress's cooperation through written communications in March and April and discussions with Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, that Congress had not provided dates despite repeated requests, and that the government had since consulted other parties including the DMK, Samajwadi Party, YSRCP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and BJD. Rijiju also said there is no constitutional requirement prescribing a specific timeframe for prorogation.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh separately asked whether the government has a firm new delimitation proposal and why it will not convene an all-party meeting. A similar delimitation Constitutional Amendment Bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha in April. Sources: Mirror Now (Times Network), PTI reports carried by South Politics, The Hindu BusinessLine.