Govt may call special session for delimitation, women's quota bills on Aug 17
Despite repeated disruptions washing out much of the Monsoon Session, the Narendra Modi government is preparing to push ahead with two of its most ambitious
Despite repeated disruptions washing out much of the Monsoon Session, the Narendra Modi government is preparing to push ahead with two of its most ambitious legislative proposals in a single package. Government sources told India Today that it is likely to convene a special session of Parliament soon after the Monsoon Session ends on August 13 to take up the Delimitation Bill and the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill. Read Full Story However, Parliament may not be prorogued after the session ends, allowing the government to reconvene it at short notice.
Sources said the Centre is working to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill. Once it has the necessary numbers, the government may call a special session to pass the legislation. The Delimitation Bill was introduced alongside the Women's Reservation Bill as part of a single legislative package -- the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill -- but failed to secure the required two-thirds special majority in the Lok Sabha during the three-day special session convened in April. Back then, the BJP-led NDA did not have the required two-thirds majority in either House of Parliament.
However, much has changed since then. The TMC's rout in the West Bengal Assembly elections in May strengthened the BJP's position in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. As a result, the gap to the special majority has narrowed in both Houses, where the threshold stands at 360 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 164 in the Rajya Sabha. In the aftermath of the same Assembly election results, and following MK Stalin's fallout with his INDIA bloc ally, the Congress, the BJP has also been eyeing the support of the DMK's 22 Lok Sabha MPs to improve its chances of passing Constitutional Amendment Bills, which require a two-thirds special majority in both Houses of Parliament However, with delimitation remaining a political flashpoint in Tamil Nadu -- an issue the DMK itself campaigned aggressively against while in power -- it remains to be seen whether Stalin's party would back the BJP on the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill.
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