The Centre has convened a special three-day sitting during which proposed amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act are likely to be brought for consideration and passage.
The Congress has told its Lok Sabha MPs that some very important issues will be taken up for discussion and voting in the House on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“All members of Congress Party in the Lok Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11 am onwards till the adjournment of the House on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, i.e., 16th, 17th & 18th April, 2026, without fail and support the Party stand,” the party said.
“This may be treated as most important,” the three-line whip issued by the party said.
On April 12, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a three-line whip to all of its MPs, urging them to remain present in Parliament during the extended Budget Session.
In a message to all of its MPs, the BJP said, “A Three-Line Whip is being issued to all BJP Members in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha from Thursday to Saturday, 16th to 18th April 2026. All Hon’ble Union Ministers and Members are requested to remain present in the House throughout all the three above-mentioned dates,” it said.
“Presence in the House is mandatory. No leave will be granted. Members are requested to strictly comply with the Whip and ensure their uninterrupted attendance in the House,” it added.
On April 8, the Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared draft bills which seek to implement the women’s quota before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and increase the number of seats in the Lower House to 816, with 273 reserved for women.
On April 12, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju told Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that delaying implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act is nothing but delaying justice to millions of women. He asked the principal opposition party to rise above politics and come forward to support its implementation in 2029 for ‘nari shakti’.
Rijiju said the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ was the result of a long-cherished national aspiration and a genuinely joint effort across the political spectrum. “It reflected the collective promise to the women across the country,” he said in a letter to Kharge.
The letter came in response to Kharge’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the Congress chief accused the government of hurrying the implementation of the law for “political mileage”. Rijiju said it is not about politics but about “keeping our promise” to the daughters of India.
