Is Government planning a Parliament return?

The numbers for a constitutional amendment remain crucial as buzz grows over the BJP’s strategy on women’s Bill

Speculations are rife that the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which were adjourned sine die last week on August 13, could resume sooner, enabling the Government to pass key legislation without convening a new session.

The Monsoon Session hasn’t formally been prorogued (ended) by the President of India, which is conventionally done within a couple of days of the sine die adjournment. According to constitutional provisions, the President of India convenes and prorogues the session on the recommendation of the Government.

The prorogation notification for the Monsoon Session was not issued till Sunday evening. Questioning the delay in proroguing the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Congress on Sunday asked whether Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah, was still in search of his “super-tainted” two-thirds majority to get the delimitation-linked Constitutional amendment bill passed in a special session. There has been strong speculation that the Government could bring the Bill to amend the women’s reservation law to ensure its implementation before the 2029 parliamentary polls.

“Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi stated at an event that he supports women. Since a key Congress leader has spoken in support of women and women’s leadership, I humbly request him to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to swiftly implement the bill granting 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament,” the newly appointed BJP general secretary and former Union minister, Smriti Irani, asked on Sunday. An earlier attempt to bring the delimitation-like women’s reservation Bill during the Budget Session had failed as the Government could not build on numbers required for a constitutional amendment. There were strong suggestions that the Government could seek passage of the Bill after Independence Day.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the time gap between the sine die adjournment of the Lok Sabha and its prorogation is generally two to four days, although there are many instances when both have taken place on the same day. Ramesh reminded the gap for the Monsoon session in 2015 was 28 days and in 2021, it was 20 days, but there were no “diabolical” moves afoot then.

Speculation over the Government’s next move on the delimitation-linked women’s reservation Bill has refused to die down after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay raised the issue at the August 21 Southern Zonal Council meeting in Mahabalipuram, which was chaired by Shah. “I urge the Union Government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no State will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament on account of its success in population stabilisation,” Vijay had said.

His remarks indicated a shift from the categorical opposition to delimitation through the resolution he moved in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on August 12. However, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also attended the Mahabalipuram meeting, demanded that the Government retain the existing number of Lok Sabha seats -- 543 -- for the next 25 years.