Special Parliament session likely this month to pass delimitation bill
What's the story
The Indian government is reportedly planning a special session of Parliament later this month to take up constitutional amendment bills related to delimitation and women's reservation. Top government sources told multiple news channels that the Centre has the necessary numbers in the Lok Sabha to pass these bills, with 20 Trinamool Congress MPs and six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs switching sides.
Support negotiations
Outreach to DMK and smaller opposition parties
Per NDTV, the government is also in talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which has 22 MPs, to secure its support for these bills.
The government is leveraging the bad blood between the Congress and the DMK, which split with the Congress and also left the INDIA bloc after the grand old party cosied up with CM Vijay's TVK after the state polls.
The Centre is also reaching out to smaller opposition parties as it looks to consolidate numbers.
Session planning
Tentative dates for special session
The dates for the special session are likely to be finalized considering the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which will be held at Samvidhan Sadan on October 26 and 27.
A week's notice may be given before convening the special sitting.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which ended on August 13, has not yet been prorogued, leaving room for this special sitting.
Session
Government planned to introduce bills during Monsoon Session but failed
During the Budget session on April 17, the Modi government suffered a blow when the Constitution amendment bill linked to delimitation and the implementation of women's reservation was defeated in the Lower House.
The government planned to introduce the bills during the Monsoon Session, but events such as the NEET exam leak controversy and the fallout from Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Education Minister following the CJP agitation and protests over the SIR exercise took precedence, and the government opted out.
Majority challenge
Constitutional amendments require special majority in Parliament
A constitutional amendment requires a special majority in Parliament, which is two-thirds of members present and voting in both Houses.
Though the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in the current Lok Sabha, it falls short of the two-thirds mark of around 360 seats.
The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 540.
However, the government's position has improved since April.
The government also expects support from other parties like the NCP (Sharad Pawar).