![[File] Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with LoP in the Lok Sabha and party leader Rahul Gandhi and party leader K.C. Venugopal | PTI](https://img.theweek.in/content/dam/week/week/news/india/images/2025/2/20/congress-meeting-pti.jpg.image.340.191.jpg "[File] Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with LoP in the Lok Sabha and party leader Rahul Gandhi and party leader K.C. Venugopal | PTI")
The Congress on Monday issued a three-line whip for its Lok Sabha MPs, urging them to be present during the three-day special session of Parliament scheduled to begin on April 16.
The session is drawing significant attention, as the government is expected to introduce amendments to the women’s reservation bill, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, to ensure its implementation in the 2029 general elections.
In its notice to MPs, Congress emphasised the importance of their presence and support for the party’s position on key issues to be discussed and voted on during the session.
The notice read: "Very important issues will be taken up for discussion and voting in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, i.e. April 16, 17 and 18, 2026. All Members of Congress Party in the Lok Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11:00 A.M. onwards till the adjournment of the House on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, i.e. April 16, 17 and 18, 2026, without fail and support the Party's stand. This may be treated as MOST IMPORTANT".
Alongside the women’s reservation bill, the government is also likely to introduce the Delimitation Bill, which proposes increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816. Both bills require passage as Constitutional amendments for women’s reservation to be implemented. Under the current provision, there is no mention of OBC reservation, while SC/ST reservation will continue.
Congress had previously opposed the Delimitation Bill based on the 2011 Census, claiming that southern states would face reduced representation in the Lok Sabha.
On Sunday, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote an article in The Hindu, raising concerns about the timing of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam amendment. She accused the Centre of rejecting the Opposition’s call for an all-party meeting, describing it as an example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “one-upmanship.”
In her article, Gandhi clarified that while the Opposition is not opposed to reserving 33 percent of seats for women MPs in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, it objects to the delimitation process being carried out before the 2027 Census.
