A special Session on delimitation should come with the Bill's text and three weeks' notice

Government officials expect Parliament to be recalled on November 24 or 25 to take up the Delimitation Bill and the women’s quota together. Nothing has been notified. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Friday that the Opposition has not been told. The Bill that would be voted on is not public either. A change that could lift the Lok Sabha from 543 seats to as many as 850 deserves better than a Session announced by leak.

What is known, and what is not

The April amendment would have raised the ceiling on Lok Sabha seats from the present 550 to 850 and based the exercise on the 2011 Census, so that one-third reservation for women could apply by 2029. It was defeated on April 17 by 298 votes to 230. The government says it now has 15 to 16 votes more than a two-thirds majority needs, and Congress says that is bluster.

What nobody outside the government can see is the text. In April the government told southern parties it would raise every state’s seats by 50% so their shares of the House would not change. The Bill circulated then did not contain that promise. The new version may. If it does, MPs should read it before they vote on it, not after.

The best case for speed

The government has a fair argument. The Monsoon Session was adjourned on August 13 and never prorogued, so the House can be recalled at short notice, and reports say an extended sitting of an existing Session needs only two days’ notice. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote on October 19 that the Congress did not give dates for talks and that seven other parties were consulted. A government that has the numbers may reasonably want to use them.

But speed is not the problem the Opposition raises. Its case is that a constitutional amendment on the weight of every state in the House cannot be consulted on in the corridor. Parliament’s own handbook says summons should go out, as far as possible, at least 21 clear days before a Session begins. A sitting on November 24 would be 11 days from today.

What the Centre should do

First, publish the revised Bill and a state-wise seat table now, showing what each state would have under the 850 ceiling and what its share would be. This answers the southern states’ worry in numbers.

Second, call the all-party meeting that Mallikarjun Kharge has asked for in four letters this year. A meeting after the Bill is public means something. A meeting before it is a courtesy.

Third, give the 21 days’ notice the handbook treats as the aim, or say in writing why this Session cannot wait. If the reason is the 2029 election timetable, the government should show the timetable.

The Opposition has its own work. If it believes the Bill is wrong, it should say what it would accept: a different formula, a different census year, a firmer promise on shares. Refusing every meeting while demanding one gives the government its best line.

The reporting behind this view

• 850maximum Lok Sabha seats in the April Bill, against a present ceiling of 550 (PRS Legislative Research, as reported)
• 298 to 230vote on April 17 that defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill (PRS, as reported)
• 21 daysnotice before a Session that Parliament's handbook treats as the aim, 'as far as possible' (Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs)