Lok Sabha rejects the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 which sought to expand the strength of the House from 543 to 850 seats and allow delimitation of seats based on pre-2026 Census
The Delimitation and Women’s Reservation-related Constitution Amendment Bills failed to pass in the Lok Sabha after falling short of the required two-thirds majority.
Out of 528 votes cast, 298 were in favour and 230 against. The Bill needed 352 votes to be passed. As a result, the proposals were defeated by a margin of 54 votes.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the bills could not be carried forward due to the lack of the required majority. Following this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the remaining related bills would not be taken up.
Earlier, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill in the House, after which voting was conducted.
Amit Shah Attacks Opposition
Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly criticised the Opposition, accusing it of opposing the bill for political reasons. He said the bill aimed to provide 33% reservation for women and claimed that parties which had earlier supported it were now backing away.
BJP Women MPs Protest in Parliament Premises
After the bill’s defeat, women MPs from the BJP and NDA staged a protest inside the Parliament premises, starting from the Makar Dwar.
The party also announced that from April 18, BJP and NDA workers will hold protests outside the residences of leaders from the INDIA bloc.
The development has intensified the political confrontation over the issue of women’s reservation in Parliament.
