Implement 2023 law without conditions: Rahul Gandhi to Rijiju

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has urged the Centre to implement the 2023 Women's Reservation Bill without conditions, accusing the government of unnecessarily linking it to delimitation. His remarks came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought Congress' support.

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Saturday responded to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks on the women’s quota Bill, stating that the legislation was unanimously passed in 2023 with the “full support of Congress” and accused the government of “unnecessarily” linking it to delimitation.

Taking to X, LoP Gandhi said, “Mr Rijiju, who would know better than you, as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, that the Women’s Reservation Bill 2023 has already been passed unanimously, with the full support of the Congress.”

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“The question is, why has it still not been implemented even after three years, and why do you now want to unnecessarily link it to delimitation? Implement the 2023 law. Without any conditions,” LoP Gandhi added.

This came as Rijiju responded to LoP Gandhi’s remarks on women, saying that the Congress party should now have no difficulty in supporting the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.

This came as LoP Gandhi made the comments in an Instagram post on Friday, expanding on his response during his “Ask Me Anything” session on Thursday, where he spoke about the need to ensure greater freedom and space for women in Indian society.

LoP Gandhi said that no country can achieve true progress or fulfil its potential if women are not able to express themselves freely, stressing the need to bring women’s voices back into public discourse and create an environment where they can pursue what they want.

He further argued that the inability of women to express themselves has a wider impact on the country’s development and progress.

LoP Gandhi stressed that women’s empowerment should not be restricted to their participation in business or politics, but should extend to their everyday lives, including their homes, families and public spaces.

He explained that women should also have the freedom to express opinions that may differ from those of people around them and to question established norms within their families and society.

Responding to LoP Gandhi’s remarks, Rijiju described them as a potentially positive indication of a change in the Congress party’s approach towards women’s political representation.

“This seems to be a positive message from the Congress Party. There’s a visible change of heart in Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji about women. Now, I hope Congress Party will support the Women’s Reservation Bill unconditionally,” Rijiju said.

The exchange comes amid the continuing political debate over women’s representation in India’s legislative institutions and the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill.

The Women’s Reservation Bill, officially enacted as the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 (also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), is a landmark law in India that reserves 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in April 2026 to fast-track the 33 per cent women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by using the 2011 Census for early delimitation. However, the Bill failed to pass in the Lok Sabha after falling short of the required two-thirds majority.