Congress seeks all-party meet on women’s quota; govt signals outreach, eyes early rollout tweak

The Congress has urged the Centre to convene an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chart a roadmap for implementing the women’s reservation law, Times of India reported, even as the government signals fresh outreach to opposition parties and weighs changes to fast-track the rollout.

Government sources said the Centre has already begun engaging with key opposition leaders, including the Congress. “It is govt's prerogative to decide the manner of its agenda,” a senior functionary said, responding to the demand for a meeting on the law that provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The push for wider consultations comes amid indications that the government may amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to enable earlier implementation. One option under consideration is to delink the rollout from the delimitation exercise, which is tied to the decennial Census — still at an early stage.


Delimitation is expected to be a lengthy and politically sensitive process. Southern states, in particular, have flagged concerns that a population-based redistribution of Lok Sabha seats could reduce their representation in the lower House.

In a letter to parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated the party’s position, noting that he had already conveyed the need for a structured discussion on implementation.

He told Rijiju that he had already conveyed to him Congress's view that the govt should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the roadmap for the bill's implementation. He also expressed hope that such a meeting would be called at the earliest.

The developments point to a possible recalibration by the government as it seeks political consensus to operationalise the long-pending quota law sooner rather than later.