NEW DELHI: Congress on Thursday said it would strongly oppose the proposed Delimitation Bill if the Centre reintroduces it during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. The party also said it would hold the Narendra Modi government accountable on a range of issues, including alleged corruption, paper leaks, rising prices, foreign policy and the Ayodhya Ram temple donation controversy.The decision was taken at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group chaired by Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders attended the meeting to finalise the party’s strategy for the Monsoon Session.Sharing a post on X, Kharge outlined the issues the Congress plans to raise in Parliament. “Chanda Chori – Astha se Dhoka, Paper leaks and the systemic corrosion of education system, institutional capture, breaking of political parties, multiple scams and charges of corruption, backbreaking price rise, foreign policy failures and strategic blunders, the imposition of ethanol blending on 3.5 crore vehicle owners, unbridled deforestation, and the continued assault on the rights of SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities are among the critical issues on which the Congress Party will hold the Modi Govt accountable during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament,” he said.Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party had reviewed the bills likely to be introduced during the session, though it was still awaiting the government’s official legislative agenda.“We have heard that the Home Minister is trying to reintroduce the Delimitation Bill, which failed to get a two-thirds majority for the government on April 17, marking a significant defeat. They want to bring that bill back,” he said.Reiterating the party’s stand, Jairam said, “Congress Party’s stand has always been clear: we will strongly oppose the Delimitation Bill and continue to do so. We will make every effort to maintain unity among all opposition parties.”He alleged that the government was attempting to secure the required numbers by engineering splits in opposition parties.“It is true that since April 17, the home minister has engineered splits in one or two opposition parties. This is an insult to the Constitution. They are cunningly trying to secure a two-thirds majority. Obtaining a two-thirds majority through such cunning tactics and by breaking up other parties is an affront to the Constitution; it would be a tainted majority. Although there is no possibility of them securing a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha,” the Cong leader said.The Congress party also reiterated its support for women’s reservation while opposing any attempt to link it with delimitation.“Introduce a provision for women’s reservation, and we will extend our full support. However, the delimitation bill that was tabled while labelled as a women’s reservation act was actually a dangerous delimitation bill introduced under the guise of women’s reservation,” Jairam said.He said that the party would also oppose the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and changes to the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.“We will also oppose the ‘Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill’… There is also a possibility of the FCRA Bill coming up; we will oppose that as well… We are not in favour of amendments to the National Food Security Act and will strongly oppose them,” he added.Ramesh said the party would seek discussions on several issues during the session, including the alleged misuse of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the NEET paper leak, ethanol-blended fuel and foreign policy.“There are other issues we intend to raise specifically, the theft of donations and the betrayal of faith. Regarding the Lord Shri Ram temple, new revelations are surfacing daily. We will certainly raise the issue of the scandal orchestrated by the BJP and RSS in Ayodhya. There is also the issue of NEET… The third issue, as you know, is the E20 scam, which implicates several senior BJP leaders and their sons; we will certainly demand a discussion on this,” the leader said.He added that the party would also seek debates on India’s relations with China and the United States and the evolving situation in West Asia.Ahead of the all-party meeting scheduled for July 19, Ramesh criticised the Centre, calling such meetings a “formality” and claiming opposition suggestions were routinely ignored.The Monsoon Session of Parliament is scheduled to run from July 20 to August 13. While there has been speculation that the Centre may reintroduce a revised Delimitation Bill during the session, the government has not yet announced its officially.
