Sukhbir Badal’s SAD backs Women’s Reservation, Delimitation Bills a day after meeting PM Modi

New Delhi: Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday announced the party’s support for the Women’s Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill. The announcement came a day after Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The decision was taken during a meeting of senior SAD leaders in Chandigarh. The party discussed key issues expected to come before Parliament and called for the immediate implementation of both measures.

Women’s representation backed

In a post on X, Badal said the party’s support for women’s reservation came from the principles promoted by the Sikh Gurus.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal draws inspiration from the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, who championed the dignity, equality and equal rights of women. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (@SGPCAmritsar) has already set an example by providing for women’s reservation in its House,” he said.

The party demanded that the Women’s Reservation Bill be put into effect without further delay. The proposed measure seeks to increase women’s representation in elected bodies.

Fair delimitation sought

The SAD also supported the Delimitation Bill after its senior leaders held detailed discussions on the proposal. Badal said the delimitation process must remain fair and equitable. He said it should ensure equal representation for all states and protect the interests of different regions.

The party backed the proposal placed by the Government of India in the House for a uniform 50 per cent increase in the number of seats across all states. The SAD said the same rate of increase would help ensure that no state faced a disadvantage during the redistribution of seats. It demanded the immediate implementation of the delimitation process along with women’s reservation.

Gujral defends decision

SAD vice-president and former Rajya Sabha member Naresh Gujral described the party’s position as “a very logical thing”. “We have one member in the Parliament and we cannot just oppose the two bills for the sake of it,” Gujral said.

He said the party had supported greater political representation for women in the past and considered delimitation necessary. “We have been supporting women reservation in the Parliament and delimitation is need of the hour,” he further said.

The announcement signals the SAD’s willingness to support the government on the two legislative proposals despite its limited strength in Parliament. The party currently has one member in Parliament, according to Gujral.