India, April 20 -- An already bitter relationship between the government and the Opposition has deteriorated into outright hostility following the failure of the 131st Constitution amendment bill to garner the required two-thirds majority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation, attacked the INDIA bloc and likened its opposition to the bill as "foeticide" even as the Opposition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s efforts a smokescreen to gerrymander constituencies to its advantage. Beyond the politics, as this newspaper has noted, the episode highlighted genuine anxieties about delimitation, the fraying federal compact and the possible angst in southern states once the freeze on the expansion, and redrawing of constituencies expires in 2026. Yet, this episode has left two lingering questions. One, now that every party is on board with carving out a 33% quota for women within the existing 543 seats, will the Centre move to implement this in time for the 2029 polls? The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has introduced a private member's bill in this regard, and the Congress and others have indicated they will back the move. A government, which rightly claims to have put women leaders in senior executive and constitutional positions, should consider how such a move could transform Parliament. It will not only mark a historic turn in the Republic's history - just 30 years ago, it was not uncommon to hear misogynistic comments in Parliament every time women's quota was brought up - but also show that the NDA's public stance is backed by intent and action. The second question is about the ongoing census, and especially the landmark enumeration of caste. How will the government balance the conflicting objectives of staying true to Constitution's mandate of ensuring every vote is worth roughly the same - analysis in these pages have shown that today, a vote in the poorer northern states is worth lower than in the more prosperous southern ones - while ensuring that the southern states - which managed to control their population in line with the national imperative in the 1970s and 1980s - are not penalised for merely following the Centre's guidance? This question will become even more thorny when the caste data is out in roughly three years and the demand for caste-specific quotas - beyond the constitutionally permissible ones for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes - gathers momentum. That moment will require sagacity and statesmanship, not unlike the birthing moments of this republic. Wide and genuine consultations where every party put their political calculations on the backburner will be required....