Congress leader Manish Tewari on Thursday criticised the Centre’s proposed legislation, calling it “not a Women’s Reservation Bill, but a delimitation Bill dressed up as a Women’s Reservation Bill”.He alleged that the move undermines India’s federal structure and strengthens what he described as the Centre’s “authoritarian tendencies”.Participating in the debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, the Chandigarh MP said the women’s reservation law passed in 2023 had clearly stipulated that delimitation would be carried out only after the first Census conducted post-2023. He questioned why the government now appeared to be relying on the 2011 Census, asking what had changed in the last 20 months to justify the shift.“This question has not been answered by the government so far,” he said.Tewari also flagged inconsistencies in statements made by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal regarding the proposed increase in Lok Sabha seats. While the minister indicated that the expansion would be capped at 50 per cent, Tewari noted that the Bill only refers to delimitation based on the 2011 Census and sets an upper ceiling of 850 seats, without specifying such a cap.Referring to the Bill’s provisions, he said a House strength of up to 850 seats, based on the 2011 Census, would translate into roughly 14.85 lakh voters per parliamentary constituency and could lead to uneven seat increases across regions.He argued that the issue was not just proportional representation but the absolute number of seats, warning that a larger House — ranging between 815 and 850 members —could reduce the relative influence of smaller states.Tewari also raised a constitutional concern regarding Uttar Pradesh, saying delimitation there may not be feasible under the current framework. Citing Article 170(1), which caps the size of state Assemblies between 60 and 500 seats, he said any exercise could push the Assembly strength to around 560.“Without amending Article 170(1), how will the government implement this?” he asked.Emphasising institutional propriety, Tewari said determining the number of seats was the prerogative of the Delimitation Commission, not the government, and warned that the current approach could undermine its autonomy.