Mumbai : Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule has urged the government to implement a 33% reservation for women in Parliament, clarifying that the INDIA bloc has never demanded that this be linked to a delimitation exercise.
Speaking at a press conference, Sule stated, “We have neither held discussions with anyone regarding delimitation, nor has anyone approached us about it. We will formulate our stance once the bill is introduced.” She added that her party, NCP(SP), has not engaged in any talks on the delimitation matter.
Baramati MP Sule further explained that any decisions on forthcoming legislation would be made after consultation within the INDIA alliance. “However, we will discuss any upcoming bill in detail within the INDIA alliance. Earlier parties like the DMK, SP, and ourselves had stated that we would consider the 50% quota issue. The INDIA alliance never demand the delimitation; we demand that 33% reservation for women should be implemented,” she said.
Sule also revealed that the INDIA bloc had previously requested that the government invite all alliance parties simultaneously for discussions on related legislation rather than approaching them individually. “During the previous Budget Session, Kiren Rijiju had invited Asaduddin Owaisi, me, and Arvind Sawant. He was inviting parties individually, and we met with the country’s Home Minister, Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju. Under Mallikarjun Kharge’s leadership, we wrote to Amit Shah requesting that they invite us all together,” she said.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which sought to increase parliamentary seats and expedite the implementation of the 33% women’s reservation, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026. The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against.
Addressing rumours of division within the NCP(SP), Sule stated, “All 8 MPs of NCP SP and all our MLAs, we stick together. The NCP is a party where Sharad Pawar not only leads it, but he invests in everybody, and he listens.”
The Monsoon Session of Parliament is scheduled to take place from July 20 to August 13, as announced by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
