Shashi Tharoor Strongly Criticizes Government’s Plan Linking Women’s Reservation to Delimitation

During the special session of the Indian Parliament, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor vehemently criticized the government’s plan to link women’s reservation with delimitation. Tharoor described delimitation as a ‘political demonetization’ and warned that it could jeopardize the federal structure. He argued that tying women’s reservation to a complex administrative process hinders the aspirations of Indian women. April 17, Kathmandu.

Speaking on the second day of the three-day special session in the Lok Sabha, Shashi Tharoor sharply condemned the government’s attempt to associate women’s reservation with delimitation. He cautioned that rushing the delimitation process poses risks to the federal framework and identified it as a form of ‘political demonetization.’ Furthermore, he raised awareness about the potential harm this could cause to the country.

Participating in the debate, Tharoor remarked that the government has turned women’s reservation into a “gift wrapped in barbed wire” by entangling it in the complicated census and delimitation process. He stated that women’s reservation could be implemented immediately but has been blocked by linking it to a highly contentious and complex administrative procedure, thereby thwarting Indian women’s demands.

Prior to Tharoor’s speech, DMK MP Kanimozhi expressed concerns about the negative impact delimitation could have on the federal structure. Tharoor highlighted that delimitation would politically disadvantage South Indian states, where population control has already been achieved, while states with higher population growth would gain greater political significance. Questioning this, he asked, “Are we about to regard the outcomes of good governance as politically insignificant?” He also pointed out constitutional and economic issues, such as states contributing more to the national income receiving a smaller share, and the increasing size of the Lok Sabha disrupting balance with the Rajya Sabha. However, on the debate’s first day, the Prime Minister assured that delimitation would continue as before, with no changes, addressing concerns raised by opposition parties.