Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that the government is willing to formally guarantee a 50% increase in seats for all states through an official amendment, even offering to pause proceedings briefly to place the proposal on record.
Replying to the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill, Shah said the government had “nothing to hide” and was ready to bring the amendment in writing within an hour if the Opposition agreed to cooperate. He stressed that the proposal could be immediately circulated among members, making the government’s position transparent and binding.
He challenged Opposition parties to clarify whether their objection was specifically about seat expansion. According to him, if that was the core concern, the government was fully prepared to address it through a formal legislative commitment while ensuring that the Bill is passed without delay.
At the same time, Shah reiterated his criticism that while no party openly opposes women’s reservation, many are effectively resisting it by attaching conditions. He warned that continued delays could push implementation beyond 2029, which he framed as an indirect way of blocking the reform.
Linking delimitation with broader representation, Shah argued that opposing the exercise also means resisting an increase in seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He maintained that delimitation is essential to correct disparities in constituency sizes and to ensure that every vote carries equal value across the country.
To address regional concerns, particularly from southern states, Shah emphasised that the proposed model would not reduce any state’s representation. Instead, by expanding the total number of seats by 50% across all states, the relative share of each state would remain intact while accommodating women’s reservation.
He illustrated this with examples, noting that implementing reservation within the current 543-seat framework would significantly limit representation in some states, whereas expansion would allow both reservation and proportional balance to coexist without reducing seats.
Shah also invoked historical context, pointing out that Lok Sabha seats were last increased in 1972 and later frozen during the Emergency through the 42nd Amendment. He accused the Congress of having stalled delimitation in the past and continuing to do so now.
Rejecting narratives of regional imbalance, he urged members not to frame the issue as a North-South divide, asserting that all states and Union Territories have equal constitutional standing in Parliament.
Additionally, Shah clarified that the government has decided to conduct a caste census along with the upcoming 2026 Census, aiming to remove uncertainty around the issue.
Overall, Shah positioned the offer of a written amendment as a decisive step to address Opposition concerns, while pressing for swift passage of the legislation to enable timely implementation of women’s reservation alongside a comprehensive delimitation exercise.
