April 16, 2026
Pratima Mondal’s speech on The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The Delimitation Bill, 2026
Madam, where there is a woman, there is magic. I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life. On behalf of All India Trinamool Congress, I rise to oppose this legislative package, not out of opposition to women’s reservation, which this House settled unanimously in September, 2023, but out of an obligation to this democracy, to this Constitution. On record, I want to mention here that All India Trinamool Congress is not against the Women’s Reservation Bill – we never have been and we never will be – but we are against weaponising the women’s reservation as an electoral ammunition. Instead of 33 per cent women’s reservation, our demand is 50 per cent reservation for women. Sir, women’s reservation is not in question. What is in question is what this Government is doing in its name. There are three sweeping instruments that have nothing to do with women’s reservation and everything to do with redrawing the electoral map of India to serve the BJP arithmetic before 2029. महोदया, इस जबल के माध्यम सेबीजेपी इस फेिरल स्ट्रेटचर और लोकतंत्र की धजज्जयां उड़ा दना े चाहती है। This is not women’s reservation, this is electoral engineering dressed in the language of nari shakti. Five Southern States altogether gained barely 63 additional seats, while the BJP-dominated Northern States gained nearly 130 seats, which is more than double. This is the hidden story of this Bill. I would like to remind all the Members of this House that the hon. Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah ji took part in the discussion on Nari Shakti Vandana Adhiniyam, 2023. But now, what is said in this House? ‘कुछ पाटीज के जलए मजहला सशटतीकरण एक पॉजलजटकल एजंिा हो सकता है। कुछ पाजटायं के जलए मजहला सशटतीकरण एक राजनीजतक मद्दा हो सकता ह ु ै। कुछ पाजटायं के जलए मजहला सशटतीकरण का नारा चनाव जीतन ु े का हजथयार हो सकता है, लेजकन मेरी पाटी और मेरे नेता नरन्द्र मोदी जी क े े जलए मजहला सशटतीकरण राजनीजतक मद्दा नहं ह ु ै। यह मान्यता दने ेका सवाल है।’ महोदया, मंइस सदन के माध्यम सेयह बोलना चाहती हूँजक वेस्ट बगाल, तजमलनाि ं ुऔर कई अन्य राज्यं मंहारनेके िर नेही नरन्द्र मोदी जी, अजमत शाह जी और इस बीज े ेपी गवनामंट आज इस सदन मंयह मजहला ररजवेशन जबल लानेके जलए मजबूर जकया है। Madam, recently, BJP’s National President went to West Bengal and has given direction to their karyakartas to conduct meetings, Michhil, and prachar from shehar to gaon and from one booth to another booth. They want to get the benefit of this Women’s Reservation Bill from Bengal. मैिम, मंसदन के माध्यम सेपूरेदश को बोलना चाहती ह े ूं जक वूमेन ररजवेशन जबल इस भारतीय जनता पाटी के जलए, नरन्द्र मोदी जी क े े जलए और अजमत शाह जी के जलए मजहला सशटतीकरण का नारा इनके चनाव जजतन ु े का हजथयार है और मजहला सशटतीकरण इनके जलए एक राजनैजतक मद्दा ु है। … मैिम, बगाल की जनता आज यह कह रही ह ं ैजक जजतना भी कर लो एसआईआर, बगाल म ं ंजफर सेममता सरकार। … (व्यवधान) मंपजिम बगाल क ं े सदरबन स ंु ेआती हू। मं ंएक जकसान, दजलत पररवार सेआती हू। आज स ं बह म ु झुेइस जबल केइंट्रेोिटशन के समय मझुेबोलनेनहं जदया गया। मेरा कं ठ रोक जदया। मंएक दजलत पररवार सेआती हू। मं ंनेपहलेनोजटस जदया था। मेरा नाम भी वहां था, लेजकन इन्हंने बोलनेनहं जदया। मंयह बोलना चाहती हूं जक बीजेपी सरकार दजलतं की बात कर रही है। अजमत शाह जी और नरन्द्र मोदी जी न े ेिॉ. बाबासाहेब अम्बेिकर जी का स्टैच्यूसदन के मैन गेट सेहटाकर एक अधकार य ं टत कोन ु ेमंरख जदया है। उस जदन इस बीजेपी नेहमारेबाबासाहेब अम्बेिकर जी की … मंसजवधान की प ं स्तक हाथ म ु ंलेकर बोलना चाहती हूं जक इस सजवधान का उन्हंन ं ेअपमान जकया है। येबाबासाहेब अम्बेिकर जी का जन्मजदन मनातेहं, उनकेगलेमंयेमाला िालतेहं। बाबासाहेब अम्बेिकर जीवन भर तपजसली जाजत, उपजाजतयं के जलए लड़ाई लड़ी है, अपना जीवन समजपात जकया है। यह सजवधान हमार ं ेजलए एक रक्षा-कवच हैऔर आगामी जनगणना करनेसेपहलेमजहला जबल पास करनेका मतलब ही दजलत मजहलाओंऔर तपजसली जाजत, उपजाजतयं का अजधकार छीनना है। * (Thank you Hon. Speaker Sir. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I would like to say on behalf of All the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women of Bengal that BJP will get a befitting reply in West Bengal this time and Mamata Banerjee shall be the Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term.) Madam, TMC has 28 Members in this House from West Bengal. Among them, three are SC women MPs; two are SC male MPs; and one is ST MP. Madam, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam itself provides for reservation within reservation. One-third of SC/ST seats are also reserved for women from those communities. Any delimitation on outdated data directly determines where SC and ST constituencies are drawn and how many there are. By proceeding without the caste census, this Government is not serving SC and ST women, it is denying them the accurate demographic foundation their constitutional entitlements depend upon. Madam, the Delimitation Bill, 2026 contains a provision that should alarm every constitutionalist in this House. Delimitation Commission orders, once gazetted, will have the force of law and cannot be challenged in any court. Without judicial review, the mandate for the Delimitation Commission to follow constitutional principles becomes an empty formality. The associate members nominated by State Legislatures – five MPs and five MLAs – carry no voting rights and cannot sign Commission’s decisions. Their inclusion is cosmetic. The Commission’s composition, its data source, and its orders will all be determined by the Central Government and none of it can be questioned in court. Madam, you – the BJP – are taking us back to the communal delimitation that we know as partition. As a Bengali, I know up close what partition and communal delimitation means. My people still bear these scars. Assam has been a laboratory of communal delimitation. And who will sit in the Delimitation Commission? It is the Election Commissioner or the “Exclusion Commissioner”, who has most recently excluded almost 1.03 crore Bengalis and has come up with suspect categories like logical discrepancies. होम जमजनस्टर अजमत शाह जी, आप तो इंजिया के जजन्ना जनकले। And here, I must speak directly to the Home Minister Amit Shah ji. You have built your political career invoking the trauma of partition. History will record that the man who most loudly mourned Partition was the man who most quietly replicated its logic – separating people from their political voice, community by community, constituency by constituency. I would also like to remind all the Members of this House today that hon. Prime Minister Modi ji also took part in the decision on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023. Sir, what he said, ”मजहलाओं को अजधकार दने ेका, मजहला शजि का उपयोग करनेका वह काम, शायद ईश्वर नेऐसेकई पजवत्र काम करनेके जलए मझुेचना ह ु ै।” मैिम, मंप्रधान मत्री जी स ं ेपूछना चाहती हूं जक आपनेजपछलेदस सालं मंयह पजवत्र काम टयं नहं जकया? मोदी जी, आप मजहला सम्मान केबारेमंबात कर रहेहंजक ईश्वर नेमजहलाओंको सम्मान दने ेका दाजयत्व आपको संपा है। वर्ा2021 मंआप पजिम बगाल गए और हमारी म ं ख्य म ु त्री को आपन ं े कैसेसबोजधत जकया – ‘दीदी ओ दीदी।’ इसजलए वर् ं ा2021 मंबगाल न ं ेआपको जवाब जदया और आप हार कर यहां चलेआए और हमारी सारी स्कीम्स को बद कर जदया। ं जब जकसी स्टेट मंइलेटशन होता हैतो मोदी जी वहांपर जाकर ऑपोजीशन को बोलतेहंजक ये लोग ‘रवड़ी’ बा े ट रह ं ेहं। आप लोग पजिम बगाल गए, आपन ं ेजो वहां अपना सकडप-पत्र प ं ेश जकया, वह टया था? टया वह ‘रवड़ी’ नहं थी? ल े ेजकन, पजिम बगाल की जनता इस झ ं ूठी ‘रवड़ी’ का म े हतोड़ और ुँ भरपूर जवाब दगी। े Smt. Mamata Banerjee has implemented 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayat and Municipal bodies. She has consistently filled over 33 per cent women candidates in State and national elections. Her unique Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme encourages girls to advance towards education. Her Lakshmir Bhandar scheme is a symbol of financial empowerment for women in West Bengal. * (Sir, For those who insult Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Matangini Hazra, Rabindranath Tagore for them I would like to say that these great men are the pride of all citizens of Bengal and we bow down in respect for them.) Madam, I would like to quote a few lines from Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore: (I do not pray that you keep me above you— that is not, no, not my wish. Nor do I ask that you keep me behind in neglect— that too is not, no, not my wish. If you place me by your side in times of danger and prosperity, if you grant me the strength to stand beside you in कजठन vows, to be your companion— then, and only then, will you truly know me. Today I make but this offering— I am Chitrangada, the daughter of the king.) Madam, the women of Bengal – all our Chitrangadas and all our Rajendra Nandinis, will take a leading role in forming the TMC Government in West Bengal for the fourth time, and Shrimati Mamata Banerjee, our leader, will be the Chief Minister again. Thank you
