Govt’s ‘delimitation agenda’ will fail: TMC’s Derek O’Brien

Derek O'Brien accused the government of pushing a “delimitation agenda” through women’s quota bills, calling it a failed political plot. The Opposition strongly opposed the move in Parliament, arguing it is politically motivated and will be defeated in voting.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Leader Derek O’Brien on Thursday launched a fresh attack on the government over women’s quota bills, calling it a “sinister plot” of the BJP-led NDA and said its “delimitation agenda” would fail.

The remarks came as the Lower House took up the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women’s quota law on Thursday after a division of votes. Two ordinary bills — the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill — were also introduced in the House.

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“The creaky, desperate BJP-led NDA coalition’s sinister plot for their delimitation agenda is exposed this morning in Parliament. They will fail.” O’Brien said in a post on X.

Opposition parties have backed women’s reservation in principle but raised strong objections to linking it with delimitation. Leaders have argued that redrawing constituencies based on population could disadvantage certain regions and communities, and have called the move politically motivated.
According to the current House strength, the NDA commands about 292 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. This is comfortably above the simple majority mark of 272 but falls short of the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment bill.

The opposition bloc holds around 232 seats and has said they will vote against the Bill. Opposition leaders have expressed confidence over having the numbers to defeat it.