Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticised the government over the handling of the proposed women’s reservation law and the timing of a three-day special session of Parliament, alleging that the move is being used for political advantage ahead of upcoming elections.

In a post shared on social media platform X, Tharoor said the proposed changes should not be used as a political tool that undermines federalism or weakens the deliberative process of Parliament. He suggested that the sudden convening of the special session appeared to be strategically timed, potentially linked to electoral calculations and a broader delimitation exercise ahead of the 2029 general elections.

The government’s reported plan involves increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women under a proposed expansion framework. Tharoor reiterated that the Congress party supports the long-standing demand for one-third reservation for women in legislatures, but stressed that implementation must be fair, inclusive, and constitutionally sound.

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He also referred to discussions within the Congress Working Committee, noting that while the party has historically supported women’s reservation — including backing a similar bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 — it has raised concerns over the current government’s approach. According to him, the method being adopted raises questions about transparency and the potential impact on India’s federal structure.

The Congress party has argued that linking the women’s reservation bill to a nationwide delimitation exercise could disproportionately affect states, particularly in the South and Northeast. Critics within the party claim that such a process, if rushed or poorly managed, could disrupt the balance of representation between states and alter the structure of parliamentary democracy.

Tharoor further pointed out that the implementation of the law was originally expected after the completion of the Census. He said bringing the issue into a special parliamentary session at this stage could risk bypassing established constitutional procedures, while the Congress party maintains that the ruling government is politicising a measure that should have broad democratic consensus.

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