The Congress on Monday (Aprl 13, 2026) issued a three-line whip to all its Lok Sabha members to “be present without fail and support the party stand” during the three-day special session of Parliament, which has been convened to amend the women’s reservation law and carry out a delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2011 Census.

The government has convened a three-day special session, beginning April 16, to amend the Constitution so that the women’s reservation law can be implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha election after carrying out the delimitation exercise.

The government has proposed increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies by 50%. In the Lok Sabha, it plans to increase the strength from 543 to 816 members and then reserve 272 seats for women lawmakers.

INDIA bloc meeting

Though the Congress will take a joint position after a meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Wednesday, sources told The Hindu that it will not support the constitutional amendment on delimitation.

At the same time, the party wants to ensure that it is not seen as going against the women’s reservation law and, therefore, may suggest operationalising the law by offering one-third seats from the existing 543. 

In September 2023, when the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (the Women’s Reservation Bill) was being passed in Parliament, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had argued that the law should be implemented for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The party’s stance echoed the opinion piece that Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote in The Hindu on Monday. “Reservation for women is not the issue here. That issue has been settled. The real issue is delimitation, which based on the information unofficially available, is extremely dangerous and an assault on the Constitution itself,” Ms. Gandhi argued in The Hindu.

Ms. Gandhi as well as Mr. Kharge have both insisted that the government convene an all-party meeting on the issue of delimitation after April 29, when the ongoing State elections get over.

Speaking at a press conference, party’s social media head Supriya Shrinate accused the Modi government of trying to hide behind the women’s reservation to push through delimitation and avoid the caste census.

Questioning the timing of the special session, she pointed out it was being held in the middle of an intense election campaign in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. “Do the parliamentarians from these two States, 42 from West Bengal and 39 from Tamil Nadu, have no right to participate in the campaigning?” Ms. Shrinate asked.