States » NorthPosted at: Nov 3 2026 12:10PM


Congress questions delay in proroguing Parliament, suspects special session push for delimitation bills

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) The Congress on Tuesday questioned the Centre's continued delay in proroguing Parliament, alleging that the government was deliberately keeping open the possibility of convening a Special Session to push through proposed Delimitation Bills with a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, despite keeping their contents under wraps.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh pointed out that 82 days had elapsed since the Monsoon Session of Parliament was adjourned sine die, but it had yet to be formally prorogued.
He suggested that the delay was connected with Home Minister Amit Shah's reported consideration of convening a Special Session to secure the passage of the proposed delimitation legislation.
In a post on the social media platform X, Ramesh alleged that the proposed Bills were politically motivated and intended to shield the BJP from an electoral setback in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
"The content of these Bills is still not known although its intent is clear—to save the BJP from the debacle that is staring it in 2029," he charged.
Taking a sarcastic swipe at Shah, whom he described as the "self-styled Chanakya", the Congress leader also accused the Home Minister of double standards over the government's position on parliamentary discussions concerning electoral irregularities.
He recalled that Shah had rejected the Opposition's demand for a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls last year, maintaining that the exercise was the prerogative of the Election Commission of India.
"Last year, when the combined Opposition wanted a debate on SIR he had refused saying SIR was the prerogative of the Election Commission," Ramesh said.
Questioning the government's willingness to discuss allegations of vote theft in Parliament, Ramesh argued that any such initiative would ring hollow unless the Centre first addressed the Opposition's concerns over the Election Commission's functioning and the ongoing electoral roll revision exercise.
"If the Home Minister is serious about a Special Session on vote chori, he should first secure the resignation of his hatchet man CEC Gyanesh Kumar. He should also suspend SIR," he demanded.
Ramesh also challenged the government to come clean on its proposed changes to the delimitation framework before introducing legislation in Parliament.
He questioned why the Centre had not taken the Opposition into confidence or convened an all-party meeting to discuss the proposals, their constitutional implications and their likely impact on the political representation of different states.
"And, of course, he should also be sharing with the Opposition well in advance his new proposals for Delimitation. Why doesn't he have the courage to convene an All-Party meeting to discuss these proposals in detail?" he asked.
Delimitation, which involves redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies and determining the distribution of seats, has become a politically sensitive issue ahead of the next proposed nationwide exercise.
The debate has acquired added significance in view of the constitutional provisions linking the future readjustment of constituencies to the first Census conducted after 2026.
The Opposition, particularly parties from southern India, has expressed apprehension that a delimitation exercise based predominantly on population figures could alter the balance of political representation between states.
Southern states have argued that they should not be penalised in terms of parliamentary representation for successfully implementing population-control policies, while questions have also been raised about the constitutional safeguards, the methodology to be adopted and the timing of any proposed restructuring.
The Congress has insisted that delimitation cannot be treated as a purely administrative or technical exercise, given its far-reaching implications for federalism and the distribution of political power.
It has demanded that the Centre disclose its proposals and hold meaningful consultations with all political parties and state governments before moving ahead.
Ramesh's latest intervention has thus brought together three increasingly contentious issues in the Opposition's confrontation with the government: the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, the accountability of the Election Commission and the proposed delimitation of constituencies.
The Congress is seeking to make transparency and consultation central to the debate, while questioning whether the government's apparent readiness to convene a Special Session is driven by a genuine commitment to parliamentary discussion or by its political calculations ahead of the 2029 general election.
UNI SKA ARN
Tags: #Congress questions delay in proroguing Parliament# suspects special session push for delimitation bills
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