Delimitation Bill Missing from Government’s ‘Tentative’ Monsoon Session Agenda

New Delhi: The Union government has not listed its contentious Delimitation Bill in the Tentative List of Government Legislative and Financial Business, even as speculation is rife that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to shore up its numbers in Lok Sabha to reintroduce the legislation. The tentative list also does not include the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, that seeks to prevent members of the political executive from holding office while incarcerated for serious crimes.

Instead, the government has listed five new bills, as well as the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, that was deferred in the budget session ahead of the assembly elections in Kerala.

Not including the Delimitation Bill does not imply that the government will not introduce the legislation in the monsoon session, as it can bring up a Bill even if is not listed. However, the omission comes after the Modi government, in a first, failed to pass its Lok Sabha expansion-linked Bill for women’s reservation in April due to its inability to reach the two-thirds majority in the House. The government is now reaching out to Opposition parties ahead of the forthcoming monsoon session.

While a united Opposition had in April defeated the Delimitation Bill, the camp has now splintered following assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and a series of defections. Twenty of the TMC’s 28 MPs have defected and joined the little known regional party, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena camp, while the Congress has ended its alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu and chosen to support the TVK government in the state.

Also read: Mallikarjun Kharge Writes to PM Modi Seeking All-Party Meeting on Delimitation Bill

The other contentious legislative item is the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide for the removal of the prime minister or chief minister of a state or ministers who are arrested under serious criminal charges for 30 days. The Bill is presently under the consideration of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi.

INDIA bloc MPs boycotted the JPC and called the panel a “rubber stamp for Modi’s unconstitutional agenda." The Nationalist Congress Party (SP)’s Supriya Sule is the only INDIA bloc MP in the JPC.

The government has, however, listed the Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was also deferred in April before the assembly elections in Kerala, amid a pushback from the opposition as well as Christian leaders. The Bill is now in the tentative list for consideration and passage.

The tentative list also includes the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which seeks to overhaul higher education in India and was introduced in the winter session in December. The Bill was sent to a JPC amid criticism from the Opposition. The tentative list says that the report of the JPC will be taken up for consideration and passage.

This comes even as NDA-ruled states and leading universities have raised objections at the JPC, warning against potential concentration of power over high education regulation in the Union government’s hands by the proposed legislation.

The five new Bills that have been listed include the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, that seeks to make provisions of delayed registration more stringent and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

In addition, the government has listed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to amend the 1956 law to increase in the number of judges of the Supreme Court of India from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India.

A fourth new Bill, the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to take measures to deepen India's sovereign debt market, attract stable global capital inflows and enhance liquidity in view of the prevailing global macro-economic environment. The Bill comes at a time of significant volatility arising from geopolitical uncertainties, sharp increases in crude oil prices and disruptions in global supply chains.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026 has also been listed.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.