Congress denied delimitation in 1976, opposing it again: Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a sharp attack on opposition parties during his reply to a marathon Lok Sabha debate on three landmark bills, accusing the Congress of repeatedly denying citizens their right to delimitation—first in 1976, and now again by opposing it today.

“In 1972, the Indira Gandhi government increased Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545 and then froze them. In 1976, to protect its grip on power during the Emergency, Congress pushed through the 42nd Amendment, imposing a ban on delimitation,” Shah said. “Then it was the Congress that deprived the people of delimitation, and today, it is Congress doing the same.”

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Shah also clarified that the Narendra Modi Cabinet had decided to conduct a caste census alongside the 2026 census, saying the announcement was intended to cut through the “confusion being spread in the minds of 140 crore Indians.

Addressing concerns from southern states about losing political influence after an expansion of Lok Sabha seats, Shah presented state-wise data to argue that southern representation would actually improve. He noted that while southern states currently hold around 23.76 per cent of seats, their share would rise to 23.97 pc in the expanded 816-seat House. He cited specific gains for Karnataka (28 to 42 seats), Andhra Pradesh (25 to 38), Telangana (17 to 26), Tamil Nadu (49 to 59), and Kerala (20 seats, with a proportional increase).

Turning to the Women’s Reservation Act, Shah said, “If the reason to oppose this bill is that there should be 50 per cent reservation, then halt the proceedings for an hour, and I will bring an official amendment to this bill, but first they (opposition) need to promise to pass the bill.”

Shah said all three bills — the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026 — were introduced to ensure women’s reservation is implemented in time for the 2029 general elections. He accused the INDI Alliance of opposing the bills under the cover of conditions and caveats. “No one has openly objected to women’s reservation, but every member of the INDI Alliance has opposed it using ‘ifs and buts,'” he said, adding that those opposing delimitation were, in effect, opposing an increase in SC/ST seats.