The battle over delimitation has moved from Parliament’s corridors to the postal department and, now, to the Prime Minister’s calendar. On Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters he will take up his party’s concerns over the delimitation exercise, the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and women’s reservation directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to talk about politics today. I have personally written a letter to the Prime Minister, and he has two letters from me,” Kharge told reporters in New Delhi. “I will explain everything to him tomorrow, including the harm caused by the SIR, the implications of the delimitation exercise they are undertaking, and the issue of reservation for women. Why are they not implementing it?”
The remarks come amid a sharp exchange of letters between Kharge and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju over the government’s plan to bring a constitutional amendment for delimitation before Parliament.
Rijiju’s letter: “You never gave dates”
Kharge had written to the Prime Minister on October 16, demanding an all-party meeting before Parliament takes up the proposed Delimitation Constitutional Amendment. The reply came from Rijiju on October 19, posted publicly on X.
In it, the minister said the government had repeatedly sought the Congress’s cooperation through written communications in March and April, and through discussions with Kharge himself and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The Congress, he said, never provided dates for discussions despite repeated requests.
Rijiju added that with the Congress not responding, the government consulted other parties instead, naming the DMK, Samajwadi Party, YSRCP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and BJD. He urged the Congress to cooperate constructively and not obstruct important legislation in the future.
Congress hits back: “Where is the new proposal?”
The Congress was quick to return fire. On Tuesday, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote to Rijiju, asking why the government was “stubbornly” refusing to call an all-party meeting and hear everyone out in a collective forum.
Ramesh posed three pointed questions:
- Does the government have a new delimitation proposal that it has discussed with any party, or does it want to bring back the defeated bill?
- Why is it refusing to call an all-party meeting to present any new proposal transparently and hear the views of all parties?
- Does it plan to push the defeated bill again with what he called a “super-tainted” two-thirds majority, which he said would “no doubt fail again”?
Ramesh also accused Rijiju of skipping over an awkward detail. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had, according to the Congress leader, made certain commitments during consultations with political parties in March 2026, but those commitments never made it into the Constitution Amendment Bill taken up on April 16, 2026, which was then defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17. “Most of the parties that were consulted had voted against the bill,” Ramesh said.
He added that what Kharge had articulated, “four times to the PM and twice to Kiren Rijiju” in his letters, reflected the consistent demand of all opposition parties.
The 64-day question: when will Parliament meet?
The letter war has a second front. Kharge had flagged that the House was not prorogued even though 64 days had passed since the Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die on August 13.
Rijiju rejected any suggestion of impropriety, saying there is no constitutional requirement prescribing a specific period for prorogation after adjournment sine die. Past instances, he said, had seen Houses remain unprorogued for up to 87 days.
What happens on Wednesday
All eyes are now on Kharge’s meeting with the Prime Minister on October 21. The Congress chief has promised to detail his concerns then, covering the SIR exercise, the delimitation plan, and the delay in implementing women’s reservation.
The outcome will set the tone for the winter session. If the government moves ahead with a fresh delimitation amendment, it will need the opposition at least willing to hear it out. If Wednesday’s meeting yields nothing, expect the letter war to escalate and the all-party meeting demand to get louder.
FAQs
What is the delimitation row about? Delimitation is the redrawing of parliamentary and assembly constituency boundaries. The opposition fears the exercise could alter the political balance between states, and wants every party consulted before the bill reaches Parliament.
Why does Kharge want an all-party meeting? He argues that a change of this magnitude cannot be pushed through without building consensus. An all-party meeting, in the Congress’s view, would let the government present its proposal transparently and hear objections before any vote.
What happened to the earlier bill? A Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation was taken up on April 16, 2026 and defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026. The Congress says even parties the government consulted voted against it.
What is the SIR that Kharge mentioned? The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is the Election Commission’s exercise to update voter lists. The Congress claims the process has harmed voters, a charge Kharge says he will explain to the Prime Minister in detail.
When is Kharge meeting the Prime Minister? On Wednesday, October 21. Kharge has written to the PM four times and to Rijiju twice on these issues, according to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
With letters flying and a prime ministerial meeting set for Wednesday, delimitation is fast becoming the winter session’s defining confrontation. Informeia will track every development.
