Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday compared the Opposition’s vote against a constitution amendment bill that sought to expand the Lok Sabha to “foeticide”, and vowed that the government will not stop trying to give women their rightful share.
In a 30-minute address to the nation, Modi said the Congress was a parasite on regional parties and opposed to any kind of reform because of selfish politics and insecurity. He added that the four main opposition parties-the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK- that helped block the amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will face the consequences.
What PM Modi said
“It (bill) was brought with good intention, honesty and was a pious attempt. It was an attempt to make women co-travellers in the country’s progress. It was an attempt to strengthen the voice of every state in Parliament, irrespective of its size and population… But this honest intention was aborted by the Congress and its allies. These four parties are responsible for this bhrun hatya (female foeticide),” he said.
His address came a day after the 131st constitution amendment bill – which sought to raise the Lok Sabha ceiling to 850 and implement 33% reservation for women in time for the 2029 polls – was defeated by a united Opposition that didn’t waver despite a dramatic last-minute offer by Union home minister Amit Shah to incorporate a 50% proportional rise for all states into the bill.
The government had proposed to increase the overall seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies by 50% and assured that the proportional representation of states in Parliament will not be changed. Since this assurance was not put in writing in the bills,it became a major bone of contention between the government and the Opposition, which accused the government of trying to use the women’s reservation as a ruse for carrying out delimitation by sidestepping the ongoing census and allowing the constituencies to be redrawn on the basis of the 2011 population count.
‘Excuses to prevent women from getting their rights’
In his televised address, the PM, however, dubbed the Opposition’s reasons as “excuses” to prevent women from getting their rights. Even as he singled out the Congress for trying to sow impediments in the path of women’s empowerment, he said all four “dynastic” parties had forged unity to protect their own interests.
“For us, the nation’s interest is paramount. But when for some people party interest becomes everything, when party interest overshadows the nation’s interest…This is exactly what has happened this time too. The women of this country will bear the brunt of the selfish politics of the Congress, the DMK, the TMC and Samajwadi Party,” he said.
Reflecting on the outcome in Parliament on Friday, he said, ” Yesterday millions of women were watching developments in Parliament. I was very sad to see that when the bill that was in the interest of women was not passed, these dynastic parties were celebrating…After snatching the rights of women they were joyous, they were not just thumping on the tables, it was a blow to the self-esteem of women.”
The PM who had made several appeals to the Opposition to pass the amendments with consensus, just as it had done during the passage of the women’s reservation bill in 2023, said although the government did not have the requisite two-thirds majority for the passage of the bills, it has “100% support” from the women, who will not forget how the opposition insulted them.
‘Opposition taking women for granted’
He accused the Opposition of taking women “for granted” and said, “They are forgetting that the women of the 21st century keep an eye on every development and they can now see through their intentions and are fully aware of the truth as well. Therefore, for the sin that the opposition has committed by opposing women’s reservation, they will be punished for sure.”
The defeat of the bill on Friday had also marked the first time a government bill was defeated in the House since 2014.
The PM also refuted the Opposition’s allegation that the bills would have impinged on the rights of the five southern states where population control measures have been successfully implemented. He said the government had devised a plan to add more seats to all the states across regions.
“This bill was not to snatch or take away anything from anyone. This bill was going to give something or the other to everyone. This was an amendment for giving not taking. The Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment is the need of the hour. It was an effort to ensure balanced empowerment across all regions including north, south, east and west and intended to strengthen the voice of every state in Parliament.”
To be sure, the bill had no mention of proportional increase in the number of seats.
Modi blamed the Congress for misleading the masses and said parties such as the DMK and the TMC had prevented more people from their respective states from coming to Parliament. Taking pot shots at the Samajwadi Party, Modi said the party had not just stepped away from the principles of Ram Manohar Lohia, but was crushing those under their feet.
“I was hopeful that the Congress would want to make amends for its mistakes dating back decades. I thought they would atone for their sins, but the Congress lost a chance to stand with the women and create history. The party has lost ground in large parts of the country, it is like a parasite, riding on the tailcoats of regional parties,” he said. He accused the principal opposition party, which played a key role in building consensus with other opposition parties to block the bills, of not wanting the regional leaders to be empowered. “…Therefore, it forced them to oppose the amendments and push their future into darkness…”
‘Anti-reform Congress’
He said a big reason to oppose this amendment was that these dynastic families feared that if women become empowered, their leadership will be in danger. “They will never want women from outside their families to come forward,” he said, adding that women who have been elected to panchayat and local bodies are today ready to carve out a space in assemblies and Parliament, which has made these parties insecure.
“The country will never forgive the Congress and its allies for this sin…they have been lying constantly about delimitation and stoking the fire of partition because they inherited the policy of divide and rule from the British and have been using it as a prop to survive,” he said. Dubbing the Congress as an “anti reform” party, he said, the opposition party has opposed every reform from outlawing Triple Talaq to abrogation of Article 370, and Citizenship Amendment Act, among others.
“There’s a one pattern that emerges, to oppose and lie about any reform. History has witnessed that the Congress has always picked this negative path…and it is because of their attitude that India could not scale the heights of development that is rightfully deserved,” he said. The anti-reform politics of the Congress, he said, has inflicted losses to the country and he was confident that the women will give a benefiting reply to this mentality.
“Some people think it’s the government’s failure that women’s dreams have been shattered. But success or failure was not the issue. I said in Parliament that let 50% of the population get their rights, I give credit to the opposition,” he said.
Opposition parties rejected the PM’s allegations, accusing him of misleading the public. “A desperate and frustrated PM with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years, turned an official address to the nation, into a political speech, full of mudslinging, and outright lies,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Countering Modi, senior TMC MP Derek O’Brien said: “The worst form of insulting women is to have used them as a decoy to try and pass the Delimitation Bill.”