Explainer

Why Modi Wants to Alter the Make-Up of India’s Parliament

Narendra Modi outside Parliament House in New Delhi.Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for constitutional changes that would dramatically increase the size of Parliament, lay the groundwork for an overhaul of electoral constituencies and ensure at least a third of lawmakers are women.

“Every delay in advancing women’s representation is, in effect, a delay in strengthening the quality and inclusiveness of our democracy,” wrote Modi in an editorial in the daily Indian Express on April 9.