Kumar Bahukhandi
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who on Saturday, August 8, 2026, demanded implementation of the 2023 women’s reservation law without conditions in a post on X while responding to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. — File Photo
Congress says it backed the 2023 law; fresh political battle centres on when and how the 33% quota should actually be implemented
New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, August 8, 2026, demanded implementation of the 2023 women’s reservation law without conditions in a post on X while responding to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Rijiju had called upon the Congress to extend “unconditional” support to women’s reservation following Gandhi’s remarks about giving women a stronger voice in the country’s political and social life.
Gandhi responded that the Women’s Reservation Bill had already received Parliament’s approval in 2023 with Congress support and questioned why its implementation should continue to depend upon delimitation.
At the heart of the dispute is not whether Parliament approved women’s reservation — it did — but when the reservation will actually become operational.
The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, provides for reservation of nearly one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. However, its implementation was constitutionally linked to a future delimitation exercise following the relevant census.
The controversy acquired another dimension in April this year when the government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, connected with the proposed delimitation framework, failed to obtain the constitutionally required special majority in the Lok Sabha. The Bill was negatived on April 17.
The political disagreement, therefore, concerns the route and timing of implementation, rather than parliamentary approval of the principle of women’s reservation itself.
The distinction is significant: the 2023 women’s reservation law has already been enacted; what remains unresolved is when the 33 per cent quota will become effective and how the delimitation requirement will be handled.
