New Delhi, April 16 (NationPress) A special three-day session of Parliament's extended Budget meeting is scheduled to commence on Thursday, focusing on the proposed Constitutional amendments associated with the enactment of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

The government plans to present three amendment Bills designed to facilitate the execution of the legislation, which was enacted in 2023 to establish a 33 percent reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

This week, the Central government provided MPs with the wording of the Constitution (131 Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the Women Reservation Bill, aiming to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 850, inclusive of members from States and Union Territories.

The Bill stipulates a maximum of 815 members to be elected directly from constituencies within the States. Regarding Union Territories, it states, "Not more than 35 members to represent the Union Territories, chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law provide."

Currently, there are 530 Lok Sabha members from States and 20 from UTs, although a delimitation commission had previously set the number at 543.

An essential amendment proposed in the Bill involves the definition of population, granting Parliament the authority to determine which data will serve as the basis for increasing the number of seats.

To amend clause (3) of article 81 of the Constitution, the Bill suggests, "(3) In this article, the expression 'population' refers to the population as determined by such census, as Parliament may by law specify, of which the relevant figures have been published."

The Union Cabinet has recently approved the Bill to amend the Constitution for the swift implementation of the 33 percent quota for women in both Lok Sabha and Assemblies, along with an increase in the number of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The amendment Bill also proposes adjustments to article 82, replacing "Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats" with the phrase "The allocation of seats."

This proposed amendment seeks to dissociate the quota's implementation from the 2027 Census, opting instead for the 2011 Census, thereby allowing its introduction before the 2029 general elections.

Furthermore, in Article 82, the amendment Bill aims to incorporate a role for the Delimitation Commission. The Bill specifies that in article 82 (c) of the Constitution, "for the words 'by such authority and in such manner', the words 'in such manner and based on such census, by the Delimitation Commission', shall be substituted." The Bill also addresses the rotation of reserved seats in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies and includes provisions regarding the duration for which the women's reservation will be active, subject to extension by Parliament.

In anticipation of the special session, multiple political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and the Congress, have issued a three-line whip instructing their MPs in both Houses to attend and adhere to the party's stance during the proceedings.