National News

131st Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2026 – Rejection

April 19 , 2026 15 hrs 0 min 46 0

The Lok Sabha rejected the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The Bill failed to get the required two-thirds majority, with 298 votes in favour and 230 against, and zero abstentions out of 528 members present and voting.
A Constitutional Amendment Bill must secure a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting).
After the defeat, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju withdrew the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The government stated that the three Bills were interlinked and could not be considered separately.
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal opposed clubbing the three Bills, calling it against parliamentary rules and practice.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah defended the move, stating that such clubbing has precedents and is needed to implement women’s reservation.
The draft Bills were circulated to MPs less than 48 hours before introduction, leading to opposition protests over the lack of time.
The Opposition forced a division of votes at the introduction stage instead of a voice vote to ensure exact counting.
A division vote records the exact number of votes for and against a Bill, usually used for contentious legislation.
This is the first time in 12 years that a Constitutional Amendment Bill introduced by the Modi government has been defeated.