Haryana Congress lawmakers decided not to attend the Vidhan Sabha special session, stating that the Legislative Assembly lacked the authority to legislate on delimitation and women’s reservation. Instead, they held a parallel session outside the House, urging the immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in 2023. Led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, the party unanimously made this choice during a legislative party meeting.
The MLAs criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party government, accusing it of undermining constitutional institutions. They contended that matters related to women’s reservation were within the purview of the Central government, not the state government. The lawmakers deemed the state government’s session as unconstitutional and opted to boycott it.
During the parallel session, Hooda emphasized the party’s commitment to upholding constitutional principles and thwarting the BJP’s agenda. He clarified that the state government’s motives for the special session were unconstitutional, prompting the Congress’s decision to abstain. The Congress MLAs, in the external Assembly gathering, unanimously endorsed the Women’s Reservation Bill of 2023 and demanded its immediate enforcement.
They highlighted the absence of provisions for women’s reservation in the Rajya Sabha in both the 2023 amendment and the proposed 2026 amendment. The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2023 and received presidential assent, becoming a constitutional fixture. Despite this, the BJP government has not implemented it even after three years, the MLAs pointed out. They criticized the delayed formal notification of the reservation Bill and accused the government of introducing a delimitation Bill in Parliament to further stall the implementation of women’s reservation.
