- The Centre will reintroduce Delimitation and Women Reservation Bills in Monsoon Session
- The government failed to secure two-thirds majority for delimitation bill in April
- NDA ministers tasked with building consensus among political parties on the bills
The Centre has decided to reintroduce the Delimitation and Women Reservation Bills in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, which begins next week.
According to sources, the decision to make a fresh push for the contentious bills was taken at a meeting at Kartavya Bhavan on Friday.
The government had introduced the delimitation bill in the Budget Session in April, but it failed as the ruling side could not muster the required two-thirds majority for the Constitution Amendment.
Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of NDA ministers on Friday to chalk out the parliamentary strategy ahead of the Monsoon Session.
Sources said ministers have been asked to consult political parties on the bills and specific responsibilities have been assigned to them to this effect.
Sourves further added that the bill on 'One Nation, One Election' is not on government priority list right now as it is focused on garnering numbers for the delimitation bill.
The Centre has already begun consensus-building talks with several political parties for a fresh push on delimitation.
Sources indicated that the government may bring a fresh bill with an assurance of a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats across states.
Read | Monsoon Session Likely To Bring 5 New Bills And 2 Pending Ones
During the debate in April, the Opposition insisted on making the 50% cap part of the bill.
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday confirmed that the government had held discussions with her party and others, including the Congress and DMK, on the demand for an across-the-board 50% increase in seats for all states.
"Give 50% seat increase in writing as part of the bill, then we will discuss," she said, hinting at the possibility of support if the government concedes.
The changed equations in Parliament have given the Centre hope of securing the required numbers.
In terms of numerical strength, the two-thirds majority mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha is 362. Currently, three seats are vacant, bringing the effective number required for a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha down to 360.
When the bill was defeated in April, 298 votes were cast in its favour while 230 were against.
The NDA has the support of 293 MPs.
With 20 rebel TMC MPs and six from Shiv Sena (UBT) extending support to the NDA, the ruling side's tally is now at 319.
The Speaker, according to sources, is set to give approval to the TMC rebels' merger with NCPI and UBT Sena MPs merger with the Shinde Sena in a day ot two. After that the NCPI will be invited to the all-party meeting.
But the government is still short of the two-thirds majority.
The post-Tamil Nadu polls rift between the Congress and DMK is also being watched by the Centre.
Read | 'Wait And Watch': MK Stalin Keeps Centre, Opposition Guessing on Delimitation Stand
DMK has said it will clarify its stand once the government brings in the new bill. At a meeting of party MPs, DMK chief M.K. Stalin, according to sources, said the DMK will not automatically side with either the BJP or the Congress and will decide its stand on an issue-by-issue basis.
Hence, all eyes are on the 22 DMK MPs and eight from NCP (SP), whose support would take the government within striking distance of the two-thirds majority.
