New Delhi, 16 April (H.S.): Ahead of Parliament's three-day special session, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a strategy meeting of INDIA alliance leaders, forging consensus on supporting women's reservation while staunchly opposing delimitation provisions.

Leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Syed Naseer Hussain, Pramod Tiwari, Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT), and Sagarika Ghose (TMC) convened at Kharge's Rajya Sabha office. Discussions centered on three bills linking 2029 Lok Sabha women's seat quotas to constituency redistricting and expanding seats from 543 to 850, raising alarms over northern bias.

Kharge's Post-Meeting Stand

Kharge posted on X that the opposition will thwart any hijacking of Parliament via flawed delimitation bills masquerading as women's empowerment. He affirmed bloc unity to counter this perceived assault on democracy.

Concerns Over Demographic Disparities

RSP MP N.K. Premchandran endorsed women's reservation but decried delimitation based on the 2011 Census, warning it fosters imbalance—Uttar Pradesh gaining ~135 seats versus Kerala's mere 22.5—tilting representation unfairly against southern states.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar