By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Showing its impatience, PM Narendra Modi led government, has notified the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023. The government implemented it from April 16, 2026, the same day after it introduced an amendment to the Act in the Lok Sabha, after convening a three-day special session of the parliament on April 16-18. Government was sitting over the Act, after the bill got presidential assent on September 28, 2023, but now did not wait for even voting outcome on its own amendment scheduled for April 17 and 4 PM.
Here lies a political trick just to influence the women voters in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu where elections are underway. In spite of its being notified, and the act coming into force, implementation of reservation for women is not possible, which Modi government clearly known. The law itself makes it clear that the quota takes effect only after a fresh delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the first census conducted after the law comes into force.
Elections later this month in the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu explains the urgency of the government, which even grossly violated the Model Code of Conduct in an effort to win women voters of those states. Election Commission of India (ECI) is still silent over the violation, which has been alleged conniving with PM Narendra Modi in electoral manipulation. Opposition has alleged electoral manipulation by the government first by bringing electoral bond scheme, followed by change in legislation relating to appointment of ECI weakening its constitutional autonomy, voter list manipulation by adding voters from other states to win state elections, and then deleting and adding voters through Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The opposition has also alleged the latest introduction of three legislations – the Constitution 131st Amendment Bill, 2026 which seeks to amend the Constitution of India and to implement Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 – a part of PM Narendra Modi’s greater design to completely redraw the electoral map of the country in BJP’s favour before the general election of 2029.
The allegation of the opposition that the government is using women’s reservation as cover of its greater design to redraw the electoral map of the country is serious. It got credence because the government never wanted to implement women’s reservation in the legislatures of the country and states immediately after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, despite the opposition overwhelmingly supported the legislation. Rather the government linked it to delimitation, which was to be done after the first Census of the country after 2026, and sat over it for over two and half years without notifying it even after presidential assent.
Now on April 16, after introducing amendments to it in the Lok Sabha that seek to remove the constitutional safeguards in respect of delimitation, delimitation commission, and post-2026 Census, and linking it to 15 year old Census 2011 population data, the Modi government has notified the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act of 2023, popularly known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. The long pending law provides 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabah and State Legislative Assemblies.
The gazette notification read, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, the Central Government hereby appoints the 16th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
Apart for providing 33 per cent of women’s quota in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures, the law also creates a sub-quota for women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Moreover, since the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to increase the current 543 seats to 850 in the Lok Sabha on the basis of the Census 2011, it is likely to not reflect the present reality of the demography, for reservation for SCs, STs, and Women, and also women from SCs, and ST communities.
When the three legislations relating to women’s reservation and delimitation on back dated 15 years old population data are being debated in the Lok Sabha, and they are to be put to vote on April 17, at 4 PM, Modi government’s hurriedly notifying the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 is a mysterious act, which is currently not known to the public.
The question is why the government did not wait for the voting outcome on the amendments in Lok Sabha? It might be a fear within the ruling establishment that the amendments can be blocked by the opposition, because they are unitedly opposing them, and they have enough strength to prevent the government to have two-thirds votes needed for any constitutional amendment. And if their amendments are blocked, Modi government could not take credit for the bringing women’s reservation law in force, though it has been sitting over it since September 28, 2023.
Why the three legislations have been brought at this time and why it has been linked to Census 2011? First, the delimitation is a time taking exercise, and last delimitation of 2008 in the country had taken 6 years of time. If the government allows the Constitutional safeguard of post-Census 2026, of the delimitation on the basis of that, and of the Delimitation Commission’s constitutional autonomy, their gameplan of redrawing electoral map of the country will fail. Therefore, they tried to do away with the constitutional guarantees given to the nation.
If the legislations are passed Delimitation Commission will not have constitutional safety, such as of effect a change only by two-third majority in the parliament. The present legislation seeks to change is through simple majority. It would effectively put the Delimitation under full control of the Modi government.
It should be properly understood in context as to how Modi government has been trying to keep every constitutional body under its thumb, including the Election Commission of India. Modi government has already tested it in the past in case of delimitation in Assam which was initiated in December 2022, and in Jammu and Kashmir in March, 2020. Final delimitation order for Assam was passed on the basis of Census 2001, and for Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of Census 2011. Election commission’s conduct was protested in both the Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, and people alleged that the constituencies carved out from the old data did not reflect their current political realities. Moreover, people alleged that Election Commission carved the constituencies on the basis of religion to benefit the BJP.
Delimitation Bill 2026, is suspected to pave the BJP’s design which it got done in Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. Since, there is very little time is left before the General Election 2026, the government wants to get it done on the basis of Census 2011. Census 2027, which is now underway, results will come out after over one year from now, and then delimitation work may further take about six years on the fresh data, as it took in the last delimitation. Delimitation Bill 2026 will also put the commission under de facto control of the government, as the ECI has become after change in legislation of appointment of Election Commissioners brought in 2023.
Election manipulation in India has become a serious issue since 2018 in the country, because of certain moves of the Union government and the Election Commission, which opposition alleged benefited PM Narendra Modi and his BJP. In 2024, BJP had won only 240 seats and reduced to minority status in the Lok Sabha. Opposition allege that the three legislations, if passed, would just change BJP’s minority status into majority to such an extent that opposition could not even dream of matching, simply by increasing the number of seats through delimitation. If it happens it would be the next level of electoral manipulation in the country, the opposition alleged. (IPA Service)
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