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The Parliament Budget Session is unlikely to be adjourned sine die on Thursday as the government plans to reconvene it again in the third week of April, according to sources.
The government is planning to bring an amendment bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from 543 seats. The idea is to have at least 273 seats reserved for women. According to sources, the key agenda may include amendments to the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Act and the introduction of the Delimitation Commission Bill. The sources said that the Centre has planned to take the 2011 census as the basis for delimitation and seat redistribution. Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats. With a proposed 50 per cent increase, the number of seats will rise to 816, with 273 (about a third) reserved for women. The budget session started on January 28 and reconvened on March 9 after an inter-session break. The opposition has raised concerns over the delimitation exercise, flagging a risk of southern states being "pushed to political margins" as the northern states may gain more seats in the Lok Sabha expansion. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh asserted that the government is proposing to "bulldoze" legislation for the sake of increasing Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent. "The Modi Govt is proposing to bulldoze a Bill to increase the size of the Lok Sabha by 50%. The number of seats allocated to each state is also proposed to be increased by 50%. The argument that a 50% increase in seats across-the-board is equitable is deceptive. Proportions may not change for the present, but there are deeper implications that cannot be wished away," he said. The Congress MP further termed the delimitation exercise as a "disadvantage" to the southern states, adding, "Any increase in the gap in the existing strengths of different states in the Lok Sabha will place South Indian states at a disadvantage. For instance, currently Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats and Tamil Nadu has 39. With the proposed Bill, UP's strength will zoom to 120 while Tamil Nadu will crawl up to at best 59. Similarly, Kerala will increase from 20 Lok Sabha seats to 30 seats, while Bihar will move from 40 to 60 seats. Overall, the southern states will gain 66 seats while the northern states will gain 200 seats." The government aims to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, also called the Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to delink quotas for women from the delimitation process. Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in 2023. A separate Delimitation Bill will be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation. The new Lok Sabha is likely to have more than 800 seats. (ANI)
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