Tripura Congress MLA slams Centre over women’s reservation move, alleges hidden political agenda

A fresh political row erupted in Tripura on April 30 after senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman launched a sharp attack on the Centre over the implementation of the Women’s Reservation law, alleging that the measure was being used as a political tool rather than a genuine step toward women’s empowerment.

Speaking during the one-day session of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, convened to discuss renewed efforts for constitutional amendments linked to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, Roy Barman questioned the intentions of the BJP-led central government.

The former minister said he was pained to see that the Congress, which had originally initiated the move for 33 per cent reservation for women, was now being sidelined politically while the BJP sought credit for the legislation.

“I am very pained that all such things were initiated by Congress. This 33 per cent reservation was also moved by Congress. But when Congress moved this law, BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley, Yogi Adityanath and Sushma Swaraj had commented against it, protested it and opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill. I can prove it on the floor of the House,” Roy Barman said during the debate.

He pointed out that while the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by both treasury and opposition benches in Parliament in September 2023, the official notification was issued only on April 16, 2026.

According to the Congress MLA, the delay in notifying the law raised questions over the sincerity of the BJP government and indicated that the move was timed for electoral advantage.

“The official notification speaks about how sincere the BJP is with this Bill and what their motive is, which can be easily understood. They have come here for politics and, by using women and hiding behind them, just for political gains they have brought this delimitation Act,” he alleged.

Roy Barman also raised constitutional concerns regarding the proposed implementation of delimitation in connection with women’s reservation. He questioned how the government intended to proceed without addressing constitutional provisions under Articles 81 and 82, which deal with allocation and readjustment of parliamentary seats.

“How can they implement this delimitation Act without repealing Articles 81 and 82 of the Constitution?” he asked.

He further claimed that smaller northeastern states like Tripura could be adversely impacted if delimitation is carried out without safeguards.

“This is a matter of concern that in the name of women’s reservation, this is an attempt to serve some other interests by putting women forward and making them stand against other political parties. In the 2011 Census also, not a single seat increased in Tripura,” he said.

The remarks triggered political reactions in the Assembly, with the issue expected to intensify debates in the state over representation, delimitation and the implementation roadmap of the Women’s Reservation law.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women, but its implementation is linked to future delimitation exercises after the next Census.