Centre delays Parliament session amid speculation over delimitation and women's quota Bills

With Parliament remaining in recess for 91 days without the monsoon session being formally prorogued, the Union government is yet to announce the dates for the next sitting, triggering speculation over its legislative plans and drawing criticism from the Opposition.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13, but the government has not formally brought the monsoon session to an end. With November 12 already behind it, the delay has raised questions about whether the Centre intends to extend the existing session or convene a special sitting to push through its proposed legislative package.

The government is reportedly considering a special session before the winter sitting to revive its plans for the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill. The legislative package also includes the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which is linked to the proposed changes.

According to people familiar with the developments, the Centre has reached out to several political parties and is confident of securing sufficient support to get the constitutional amendment passed this time.

"The government has reached out to several parties and we are confident that this time the government will have more than what (votes) is required to pass the bill," a person aware of the discussions said.

However, the person did not disclose which parties had been approached or how many additional votes the government expects to secure.

Government explores options for special sitting

The timing of the next parliamentary sitting has become significant because a fresh session requires the President to summon both Houses, with MPs generally receiving at least a couple of weeks' notice. However, since the monsoon session has not been prorogued, the government can convene further sittings as part of the existing session at shorter notice without seeking a fresh summons.

The government is therefore understood to be weighing the possibility of extending the monsoon session for a few days or convening a special sitting before the winter session.

A separate report on the government's deliberations has indicated that November 30 or December 4 could be considered for the commencement of the winter session, leaving room for a short special sitting beforehand.

The government has defended its decision not to prorogue Parliament. In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju maintained that there was no constitutional requirement prescribing a specific period within which a House must be prorogued after being adjourned sine die.

The Constitution does not prescribe a fixed calendar for the Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions, although Parliament traditionally meets in three sessions each year.

131st Amendment Bill and delimitation at the centre of plans

The Centre is keen to revive the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, which seeks to increase the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from its present 543 seats to 850 through delimitation. The proposed changes are linked to the implementation of 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies.

The constitutional amendment requires a special majority for passage. With three vacancies in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the government needs to secure the requisite two-thirds support, with 360 votes being the figure cited in the discussions.

The proposed legislative package had earlier faced a setback in April 2026, when the Constitution Amendment Bill failed to secure the required majority in the Lok Sabha. It received 298 votes in favour and 230 against on April 17, following which the two accompanying Bills were not taken forward.

The government is now looking to secure additional support from political parties to revive the proposal. However, it remains unclear whether the legislation will be introduced during a special sitting or the winter session.

The proposed expansion of the Lok Sabha and the delimitation exercise have also become politically contentious, with Opposition parties raising concerns over the implications of redrawing constituencies and the distribution of parliamentary representation among states.

Winter session announcement remains pending

The delay in announcing the winter session dates has also drawn attention to the government's usual parliamentary calendar.

Over the past five years, the government has announced the winter session schedule after November 15 only once, in 2022. Then parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi announced the dates on November 18, with the session scheduled from December 7 to December 29.

Last year, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju announced the winter session dates on November 8. The session began on December 1 and was adjourned sine die on December 19, with just 15 working days.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Council of Ministers on November 18. According to a person familiar with the plans, the government is preparing an outreach exercise to highlight milestones and achievements of the past 12 years.

Congress accuses Centre of delaying prorogation to secure numbers

The delay in formally ending the monsoon session has drawn sharp criticism from the Congress, which has accused the government of keeping Parliament technically in session to secure the numbers needed to pass the delimitation legislation.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged earlier this week that the Centre's decision not to prorogue Parliament was intended to give Union home minister Amit Shah more time to muster a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.

"This record (of not proroguing the House) has been set to give time to the Union Home Minister to somehow manipulate a super-tainted two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to get the dangerous and destructive Delimitation Bills passed," Ramesh said.

He further asserted that the Opposition would once again unite against the government's proposals, referring to the defeat of the constitutional amendment in April.

"The unity and solidarity of the Opposition which defeated his diabolical designs convincingly on April 17, 2026 will prevail once again if he repeats his trademark bulldozer tactics," he said.

Ramesh also claimed that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to the Prime Minister four times over the past six months, seeking an all-party meeting to discuss delimitation proposals transparently before any legislation was introduced.

"The PM has steadfastly refused to do so," he said in a post on X on Monday.

With the winter session schedule still unannounced and the monsoon session yet to be prorogued, the Centre's next move is being closely watched, particularly amid speculation that it could use a special sitting to revive the constitutional amendment and its accompanying delimitation proposals.