Cong to hold CWC meet today to discuss women’s bill, delimitation, West Asia

NEW DELHI, April 9: The Congress will hold a meeting of its working committee on Friday, where the party’s top leadership is expected to deliberate on the government’s move to amend the women’s reservation law, the proposed delimitation exercise, and the West Asia conflict, sources said.
The meeting comes days ahead of the three-day sitting of Parliament, during which the government is set to bring bills to implement the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 parliamentary polls and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, with 273 reserved for women.
The Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared on Wednesday draft bills which seek to implement the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 parliamentary polls and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats.
Top leaders will deliberate on the government’s move to amend the women’s reservation law, proposed delimitation exercise and the West Asia conflict issue, among other important matters, they said.The Congress has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the proposal to amend the women quota law for its early implementation as a poll issue.The opposition party last week alleged that the government has called a “special session” of Parliament for passing bills related to amending the women’s quota law and delimitation to “grab political mileage” in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu polls, which, it claimed, is a “gross violation” of the model code of conduct.
Asserting that the government’s push for a rushed delimitation exercise would have “dangerous consequences”, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh had said.
The Congress also cautioned against any haste in amending the Constitution regarding delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, saying it is a sensitive matter, and the government must tread carefully, as the exercise might put several states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala at a significant disadvantage.
In addition, the Congress will review developments in the West Asia conflict, including the recently announced two-week ceasefire involving the United States-Israel and Iran. (PTI)