Narendra Modi Pushes Parliament Expansion and Women’s Quota Reform

India’s government has introduced major proposals to reshape its democratic framework, including expanding parliament and reserving one-third of seats for women. Addressing lawmakers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the reforms would guide the country in a “new direction,” emphasizing that greater female representation would bring fresh perspectives and stronger decision-making.

The plan includes increasing the size of the lower house by about 55% to roughly 850 members and implementing similar changes in state legislatures by 2029. The government argues that redrawing constituency boundaries is necessary to reflect population shifts since the last major revision based on the 1971 census. It also aims to fast-track women’s reservation, which was approved in 2023 but tied to a future census timeline.

Opposition parties, while supporting women’s quotas in principle, have criticized the boundary changes as unconstitutional and politically motivated. They argue the reforms could be used to influence electoral outcomes and have called for immediate implementation of women’s reservation without linking it to broader structural changes. The proposals require a two-thirds parliamentary majority and approval from at least half of India’s states to become law.

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