New Delhi, 02 April (H.S.):

Parliament’s Budget Session has been adjourned until 16 April 2026, with both Houses scheduled to resume from 11 a.m. on that day and sit till 18 April. The break effectively suspends all regular business—Question Hour, Zero Hour and Private Members’ time—for 13 days, creating a focused window for a key legislative move.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the adjournment after receiving a request from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, emphasising that the House would only transact government business when it reconvenes. Vice‑Chairperson Harivansh, in the Rajya Sabha, similarly suspended proceedings until 16 April at 11 a.m., signalling bipartisan alignment on the condensed schedule.

This pause positions the session’s final leg for a major constitutional amendment: the government plans to move legislation to fast‑track implementation of the women’s reservation law. Passed by Parliament in 2023 with a two‑thirds majority, the law reserves one‑third of Lok Sabha and state‑assembly seats for women, but links its rollout to the next census and delimitation, a process that could take years.

The proposed amendment seeks to bypass that delay by using the 2011 census data for delimitation, enabling women’s reservation in as early as the 2029 elections. Under the plan, Lok Sabha seats would rise from 543 to 816—a 50 per cent increase—of which roughly 273 (one‑third) would be reserved for women. Parliament will debate this constitutional change in a truncated but high‑stakes sitting from 16 to 18 April.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar