NCPI MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar states no final decision on Delimitation Bill, with a BAC meeting pending. Meanwhile, a political row erupts between Kiren Rijiju and Rahul Gandhi over linking the Women's Reservation Bill to the delimitation exercise.

No Decision on Delimitation Bill Yet: Dastidar

Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Saturday clarified that no final decision has been reached regarding the Delimitation Bill, noting that the matter will be discussed in the upcoming Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting scheduled for Monday.

Speaking on the status of the bill, Dastidar said, "Nothing has been decided regarding the bill yet. The Business Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday at 1 PM. We will be able to proceed only after a decision is reached then; nothing is finalised at this moment."

The MP also shared details regarding a high-level meeting held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, which focused on the developmental agenda for West Bengal. "We held a lengthy discussion with the Prime Minister yesterday. We spent over 2 hours inside and received many suggestions from him for the development of West Bengal. Abu Taher was present there. I don't know what he said just now," she added.

About the Delimitation Bill 2026

The Delimitation Bill 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2026, to redraw parliamentary and assembly constituencies, expand the Lok Sabha strength to 850 seats, and implement women's reservation. However, the bill was not passed as it failed to secure the constitutionally required special two-thirds majority of members present and voting in Parliament.

Rijiju, Rahul Gandhi Spar Over Women's Reservation

Earlier today, in Parliament, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi for once again backing away from unconditional support to the Women's Reservation Bill and questioning its link to the Delimitation Bill.

Rijiju Explains Link Between Bills

Rijiju, in his latest post on X, gave strong reasons for why the two bills have been linked by the Union Government. "Rahul Ji, you know it very well that: 1. The reservation of seats for women in the House of the People and Legislative Assembly of the State is provided in the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam). 2. It shall come into effect:-- (a) After an exercise of delimitation is undertaken, (b) Based on the census figures published after the year 2023, which means the census figures published after the year 2026. 3. The exercise for publishing the census figures after the year 2026 is currently underway; however, this may take substantial time (due to caste-based census) to be finally published. In view of this, it may result in considerable delay in the implementation of women's reservation, at least not before the 2034 General Elections. 4. Therefore, to implement the women's reservation at the next general elections in 2029, the delimitation exercise needs to be undertaken at the earliest, based on the latest available Census figures, as published. 5. The implementation methodology has been proposed under the Delimitation Bill 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha along with the amendments to the Constitution. 6. However, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was introduced for this purpose, has been defeated," Rijiju said.

Rahul Gandhi hit out at Rijiju's challenge for Congress' 'unconditional support' to the Women's Reservation Bill, questioning the Centre for linking the implementation of the legislation to the delimitation exercise in the Lok Sabha. (ANI)

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