Kuala Lampur, April 16 --  

NEW DELHI, April 16 - India's government was seeking to expand the size of parliament by two-fifths to increase representation of women lawmakers, but opposition parties have cried foul, saying it would benefit the ruling party.

"We're set to take historic steps to empower women," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, ahead of the special sitting of parliament on Thursday, to debate constitutional amendments to both expand seats for women and the overall size of parliament to over 800.

The bill proposes fast-tracking implementation of a 2023 law in the world's largest democracy of 1.4 billion people, reserving 33 per cent of seats for women.

Increasing the number of women in parliament has, in principle, ...