New Delhi, 20 October (H.S.): The Congress has questioned the letter sent by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in response to party president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, who wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 16 regarding delimitation. The party said Rijiju’s response referred to discussions held by the Union Home Minister with several political parties in March this year but made no mention of the assurances given during those discussions that were not incorporated into the Constitution Amendment Bill introduced on April 16.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, raised three questions to the government in a post on X on Tuesday. He asked whether the government had any new and concrete proposal on delimitation that it had discussed with any political party.

He also questioned why the government was reluctant to convene an all-party meeting on delimitation, present any new proposal transparently before all political parties and listen to their views.

Ramesh said the Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17 and that most of the political parties whose discussions with the government were cited by Rijiju in his letter had also voted against it.

He further stated that Kharge had made the demand for an all-party meeting six times in writing, including through four letters to Prime Minister Modi and two to Rijiju.

Raising his third question, Ramesh asked whether the government intended to reintroduce the Bill that had been defeated in the Lok Sabha and attempt to secure its passage a second time. He asserted that such an attempt would also fail.

Kharge had written to Prime Minister Modi on October 16, seeking an all-party meeting before Parliament considered the constitutional amendment Bill concerning delimitation. In response, Rijiju wrote to Kharge on October 19, stating that the government had made efforts to engage with and seek the cooperation of various political parties, including the Congress, on the issue.

Rijiju also appealed to the Congress to extend constructive cooperation on the Bill.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar