The Union government is planning to convene a special session of Parliament to secure the passage of a Constitution amendment bill linked to the implementation of women's reservation, with government sources expressing confidence that it would win by a margin of 15 to 18 votes beyond the required two-thirds majority, The Hindu BusinessLine and The Daily Jagran reported on Thursday, November 12. No dates or duration for the proposed session have been officially announced.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
The proposed amendment seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from the present 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation, paving the way for the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies. The move comes after a similar Constitution amendment bill failed to secure the required numbers in the Lok Sabha during a special sitting of the Budget Session on April 17.
Source: The Daily Jagran
Sitting expected after November 16
According to senior government leaders cited by The Daily Jagran, a formal announcement could be made anytime after the Chhath festival, which ends on November 16, and the special session could be called after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his foreign tour on November 16-17. Because the Monsoon Session — adjourned sine die on August 13 — has still not been prorogued, the sitting would be convened as part of that ongoing session; the Winter Session is expected in the second week of December after a mandatory 15-day gap between sessions. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to tour the United States from November 16 to 19, Jagran reported.
The plan follows the development Awaaz Punjab reported on November 9, when Parliament had gone 88 days without prorogation and Congress alleged the delay was meant to buy time for a two-thirds majority for the delimitation bills. Read the earlier report
How the numbers stack up
The Hindu BusinessLine reported that the government needs 361 votes to secure a two-thirds majority, with the 543-member House currently having three vacancies. The Daily Jagran put the two-thirds mark at 360 in the current 539-member House and recalled that in April the bill secured 298 votes in favour and 234 against, out of 534 members present. This time, government sources cited by Jagran claim the support of 17 to 18 MPs beyond the required mark, though exact details have not been disclosed.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
Jagran reported that 20 MPs who broke away from the Trinamool Congress to join the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, along with six MPs who moved from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction to the NDA-aligned Shiv Sena, are supporting the bill. The NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction, which has eight MPs, may also extend support following recent indications from MP Supriya Sule, and the DMK — which has exited the opposition alliance — may support the bill, though this has not been confirmed; MPs from several other parties are expected to abstain, which would lower the two-thirds threshold on the floor, Jagran reported. These are claims attributed to government sources, not confirmed positions.
Why the session can be called at short notice
The Monsoon Session has now remained unprorogued for 91 days, breaking the previous record of 87 days set in 2008, The Hindu BusinessLine reported. An extended sitting within the existing session requires a minimum notice of two days, while convening a fresh session requires at least 14 days' notice. The government proposes to increase Lok Sabha seats for all states by 50 per cent to assuage concerns of southern states as it seeks to operationalise the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls. The fresh draft is learnt to have proposed keeping the existing inter-state seat ratios intact based on the 1971 Census, but government sources said this is one of the formulations being worked on and no finality has been achieved.