"Govt started countdown on women's reservation, delimitation in panic, fluster": Samajwadi MP Rajeev Rai

New Delhi [India], April 17 : During the second day on Friday of discussions in Parliament on the timeline for implementing Women's reservation, and the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai on Friday claimed that the Centre pushed a countdown for its implementation in a state of "panic and fluster".

Saying that the fact that the special session of Parliament was called during ongoing assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, proves that the government is resorting to "antics". He also criticised the way government issued a gazette notification on the said act on April 16.

"A notification has been passed, amendment has also come. The government is panicking, their boat is set to capsize, that is why the government has started the countdown in panic and fluster," Rajeev Rai told ANI.

Saying that the rushed session reveals the government's "crooked intentions", he added, "Introducing a bill like this in the middle of elections reveals the crookedness in their intentions. These are frightened people who want to fool everyone but it is said that you can't fool everyone every time."

The women's reservation act 2023 came into force on April 16, according a notification by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

"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," the notification read.

Parliament on Friday continued its debate on the amendments to the Act, which is meant to delink the implementation of reservation for women to the upcoming delimitation and ongoing census exercise.

Amid the discussions, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma spoke tooutside the Parliament, urging the Opposition to support the bill and "wash away their sins" of denying women their rightful share of power.

"The rights that the opposition did not give to women, now the same rights PM Modi is going to give, so they have got an opportunity to wash away their sins, so they should come into a positive role and by supporting it, be able to atone for the injustice done to half the population of the country," Sharma said.

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut also congratulated all women for getting their share, saying that the Prime Minister made the impossible possible.

"Hearty congratulations to all women... This bill has sparked great enthusiasm among women. PM Modi has made the impossible possible by getting this bill, stuck for 30 years, passed," she said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss the amendments to the women's reservation bill, which removes the need to implement the bill only after the census is conducted and delimitation happens.

As per the final division, there were a total of 251 AYES and 185 NOES out of the total 333 votes. With the 251 AYES majority, all three Bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced in the Lok Sabha.

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