New Delhi: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday alleged that the proposed delimitation exercise by the Centre is being “dressed up” as the Women’s Reservation Bill. He argued that if delimitation is carried out in the proposed manner, peripheral states will lose their “political heft” in the Lok Sabha.
His remarks came during a marathon debate in the Lok Sabha after Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. Union Home Minister Shah also moved to introduce the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
“This is the delimitation legislation which has been dressed as the Women’s Reservation Bill,” Tewari said.
He noted that the Women’s Reservation Bill was already passed in 2023, when it was decided that its implementation would be based on the first census conducted after 2023, followed by delimitation.
Questioning the BJP-led central government, the Congress MP said that the same government which had earlier spoken of a post-2023 census has now reverted to the 2011 census.
According to Tewari: “The Bill nowhere says that the number of seats will be increased by 50 per cent.”
He cautioned that it is the job of the Delimitation Commission to decide such matters, “not the government”.
Alleging that the government is trying to undercut the Delimitation Commission, he said: “The government in no way can dictate to the Commission what the increase in the number of seats would be.”
Referring to projections under the Bill, Tewari said: “In central India, seats will increase from 199 to 308. In north-western India, seats will increase by 16. Punjab will witness an increase from 13 to 19. In the southern states, it will increase from 132 to 198. Fourteen seats will increase for representation of the northeast.”
He said the issue is not about proportion, but absolute numbers.
“The political heft of the peripheral, smaller states, which have completed developmental goals, will be reduced in the Lok Sabha,” he argued.
According to Tewari, the definition of ‘population’ has been altered in Clause 3 of the Delimitation Bill. “Earlier, it was population on the basis of the last census; now it is population on the basis of a census to be decided by Parliament,” he said.
Stating that the founding principle of democracy is ‘one person, one vote and one value’, the Congress MP said: “Ultimately, you have to balance this foundational principle of Indian democracy with the aspirations of federalism.”
He said the entire debate revolves around managing this contradiction.
Tewari further said: “This requires a far more serious and structured discussion than the arbitrary manner in which the government is trying to ram this Bill through Parliament.”
He added: “This is the elephant in the room, the real problem which is not being addressed.”
He urged the government to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats rather than increasing the total strength of the House.
“The House does not function at 543; imagine this House at 815. Don’t tamper with the strength of Parliament,” Tewari said.
(IANS)
