Kharge warns Modi against bringing delimitation bill without discussion
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the party has requested talks with the government four times.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi convene an all-party meeting to discuss any proposed process of delimitation. He stated that no major decision should be taken on such an important issue without consulting all political parties and stakeholders. Kharge warned that the government should not attempt to pass any bill with far-reaching implications related to constitutional amendments in Parliament without adequate discussion.
Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Modi on Friday making this demand. He also questioned the delay in issuing the notification for the formal conclusion of the Parliament's monsoon session. Kharge described the situation as 'unprecedented' and noted that the monsoon session of Parliament was adjourned indefinitely on August 13, but even after 64 days, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had not been prorogued.
According to Kharge,
the government should hold detailed discussions with all political parties before proceeding with proposals related to delimitation. He emphasized that all parties should be given sufficient time to deliberate among themselves and to understand the opinions of other relevant stakeholders.
The Congress President referred to previous letters he had written to the Prime Minister in his letter. He mentioned that on April 11, he had urged the Prime Minister to convene an all-party meeting before presenting any constitutional amendment bill related to delimitation in Parliament.
Kharge alleged that the Prime Minister did not heed his demand. Instead, the government made the relevant bills public late on April 14 and called a special session of Parliament on April 16.
Kharge stated that,
on April 17, the constitutional amendment bill related to delimitation did not receive the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha and was not passed by a decisive margin.
He mentioned in his letter that even after this, the Congress continued to demand discussions and talks with the government. According to Kharge, he had also written to the Prime Minister on July 16 and August 27 requesting the convening of an all-party meeting. He has now reiterated this demand for the fourth time. The Congress President urged the Prime Minister to engage in detailed discussions with all political parties before finalizing and presenting the government's new proposals in Parliament.
Mallikarjun Kharge warned the Prime Minister that the government should not attempt to pass any significant bill related to constitutional amendments in Parliament without adequate discussion. He stated in his letter that all political parties should be given sufficient time to deliberate at their level, discuss with each other, and understand the opinions of other relevant stakeholders.
Kharge said that,
it would not be appropriate to make hasty decisions on important issues like delimitation. He urged the government to listen to the concerns and suggestions of all parties first, so that meaningful discussions can take place in Parliament on any proposal.
The Congress President advised the Prime Minister not to attempt to forcibly pass any constitutional amendment bill with wide-ranging implications in Parliament as before. According to him, such attempts had been made by the government earlier, but the relevant bill could not secure the necessary majority in the Lok Sabha.
This letter from the Congress President was shared on the social media platform X by the party's General Secretary and Communication In-Charge Jairam Ramesh. Jairam Ramesh wrote that,
Mallikarjun Kharge has expressed concern to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the unprecedented delay in formally proroguing the Parliament's monsoon session and the potential actions that the Modi government may take regarding delimitation.
The Congress party asserts that before making any decisions on sensitive constitutional issues like delimitation, efforts should be made to build broad political consensus. The party has also clarified that political parties should have adequate opportunity to express their views and study proposals before discussions in Parliament on such issues.
Delimitation means the redrawing of boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. Its aim is to organize the boundaries of constituencies according to established rules. The delimitation process can impact the representation of various regions and electoral politics. For this reason, discussions and consensus among political parties on this issue are considered important. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has made this demand for an all-party meeting to the Prime Minister on this basis.
Currently, through Kharge's letter, the Congress has clearly stated to the government that all parties should be taken into confidence before finalizing new proposals related to delimitation. The party demands that the process of any major constitutional change in Parliament should only proceed after adequate deliberation and discussion.