Guwahati, May 27 — The Assam Legislative Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution urging Parliament to implement one‑third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies after the completion of the delimitation exercise. The resolution was moved by Women and Child Development Minister Ajanta Neog.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the principal legislation specifies that the reservation will take effect only after the Census and the subsequent delimitation of constituencies. He noted that the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, introduced in Parliament under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the stated aim of operationalising 33% reservation for women before 2029, did not receive support from the Congress. “By adopting this resolution, we are requesting Parliament to ensure that reservation for women comes into effect immediately,” Sarma said.
Assembly proceedings turned tense as members clashed over alleged remarks by BJP MLA Bhuban Pegu. Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi protested from the well of the House, and most Opposition members-except TMC MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed and AIUDF MLA Mazibur Rahman-staged a walkout and were absent during the Chief Minister’s address. Sarma accused the Congress of being “anti‑women” after the walkout, though several Opposition MLAs returned to the House soon after his speech concluded.
Opposition members said they support women’s reservation but object to conditioning its implementation on the delimitation process, which follows the Census and redraws constituency boundaries. They pressed for the earliest possible implementation. Congress MLA Zakir Hussain Sikdar defended his party’s record on women’s empowerment, citing that the country’s first woman prime minister, president and Lok Sabha speaker served during Congress rule.
Akhil Gogoi argued that women comprise nearly half the state’s population and called for 50% reservation to be put into effect immediately, rejecting the need to wait for delimitation. First‑time MLAs Rupali Langthasa, Seuli Basumatary and Nilima Devi also urged colleagues to back the resolution and stressed the importance of reserving seats for women in both Assembly and Parliament.
Speaking to reporters after the walkout, Zakir Hussain Sikdar alleged that Bhuban Pegu had described Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as “anti‑constitutional” and said the Opposition’s request to have the remarks expunged from the proceedings was turned down. “The conduct of Bhuban Pegu during the discussion itself was unconstitutional. He should have been suspended from the Assembly, but instead the Speaker made an objectionable statement. In protest against this, we staged a walkout,” Sikdar said.
Sarma responded that while it was inappropriate for Pegu to single out the Opposition, those who objected had also directed criticism at the Speaker, which he described as even more offensive. Several MLAs spoke during the discussion, including Nurul Huda, Biswajit Daimary, Jibesh Roi, Abul Kalam Rashid Alam, Vijay Gupta, Chakradhar Gogoi, Rupam Chandra Rai, Kishor Nath, Joy Prakash Das, Rajdeep Gowala, Mohibur Rahman, Dipak Kumar Das, Arup Kumar Dey, Sherman Ali Ahmed, Bikan Chandra Deka, Mazibur Rahman, Ritu Baran Sarma, Thaneswar Basumatary, Aminul Haque Laskar and Victor Das.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/guwahati/assam-assembly-adopts-resolution-seeking-33-womens-reservation-in-legislatures-1612073
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Publish Date: 2026-05-27 09:54:00
