Associations to protest in Chennai on July 22 for unconditional implementation of 33% reservation for women

Various associations advocating for women’s rights will stage a protest in front of Lok Bhavan in Chennai on July 22, demanding the unconditional implementation of 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, State secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) A. Radhika said on Monday (July 20, 2026)

Addressing a press conference in Chennai, Ms. Radhika said the protest would demand the implementation of 33% reservation for women without linking it to the Census and delimitation exercise. She said the associations had also been seeking the support of various political parties to raise the issue in Parliament during the monsoon session so that the reservation is implemented at the earliest.

G. Manjula, State unit president of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), pointed out that Article 334-A of the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, linked the reservation for women to the Census and a delimitation exercise. “Because of Article 334-A, the reservation for women could not be implemented,” she contended.

Following numerous protests, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to redistribute Lok Sabha seats on the basis of the 2011 Census to expedite the implementation of women’s reservation, was introduced but was defeated in the Lok Sabha, Ms. Manjula pointed out. Now that Parliament is in its monsoon session, the Bill should be introduced without linking reservation for women to the Census and delimitation exercise, she said.

V. Ramani of the Tamil Nadu Women’s Movement charged that the Act, which provides for the conditional implementation of 33% reservation for women by linking it to the Census and delimitation exercise, was a “deceiving act of politics and conspiracy by the BJP-led Union government”. She said the BJP-led Union government should introduce and implement 33% reservation for women without linking it to the Census and delimitation exercise.