Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also flagged the timing of the session, which is scheduled to begin on April 16. He noted that it overlaps with peak campaigning in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“The special session of Parliament will begin the day after tomorrow, on April 16, when the election campaign in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will be at its peak,” he wrote on X.
Ramesh also alleged that despite repeated demands, the government refused to convene an all-party meeting after the elections to allow broader consultations on the proposed legislation. He also claimed that as of now, Members of Parliament have not been provided with copies of the Constitution Amendment Bill(s) that are expected to be tabled.
“The Modi Govt has rejected the Opposition’s perfectly reasonable and legitimate requests to convene an All-Party meeting after the elections are completed (15 days from today). Till this morning, the Modi Govt has NOT shared with MPs the Constitution Amendment Bill(s) they are supposed to be debating and voting upon,” he wrote.
Calling the move a ‘complete mockery of democracy,’ Ramesh accused the Centre of functioning with a “bulldozer mentality of the PM – who once claimed he was non-biological and now says he is a non-grihasthi.”
The special session of Parliament will begin day after tomorrow on April 16th – when the election campaign in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will be at its peak. The Modi Govt has rejected the Opposition’s perfectly reasonable and legitimate requests to convene an All-Party meeting…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 14, 2026
The remarks come amid the Opposition’s push for consultations on the Women’s Reservation Bill, formally known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday announced that the party will convene a meeting of Opposition parties on April 15 to deliberate on the issue.
Kharge reiterated that the Congress fully supports the legislation which provides for one-third reservation for women in legislative bodies but criticised the Union government for what he described as an unwillingness to engage with other political stakeholders.
“If they call all parties and allow discussions, we can participate and offer our suggestions. But they are not prepared to call an all-party meeting. That is why we are once again convening an all (opposition) party meeting. Whatever decision we take there will be conveyed,” Kharge said.
Women’s Reservation Bill mandates a 33% quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and received Parliament’s approval in 2023. A new proposal now seeks to advance its rollout by delinking it from the 2027 Census and instead using 2011 Census data. This could enable its implementation ahead of the 2029 general elections.
