Opposition made big mistake: PM Modi flays opposition as Womens Reservation Bill fails Parliament test

Women's Reservation Bill: The opposition has committed a mistake by not supporting Women's Reservation Bill and will face grave consequences, Prime Minister Modi told his cabinet. 

The prime minister's criticism comes a day after the crucial bill failed the parliament test amid opposition backlash over the government's approach. 

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which proposed reserving 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, failed to pass in the Lok Sabha because it did not get the required two-thirds majority. It got 298 votes in support, while 230 MPs voted against it after a long and heated debate.

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the opposition in a cabinet meeting, saying they had disappointed women and must answer to the country. He also urged that this message be taken to every village.

In Parliament, however, Modi tried to address concerns and assured that no state, especially in the south, would face injustice when the number of Lok Sabha seats increases from 543 to 816. He appealed to MPs to support the bill in national interest and not view it politically.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also assured that southern states’ representation would not decrease and might even increase. Both leaders accused the opposition, including the Indian National Congress, of creating unnecessary issues to oppose the bill.

On the other hand, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said the government was using the women’s reservation issue as a way to redraw electoral boundaries for political gain.

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the bill’s failure a win for opposition unity. Opposition parties maintained that while they support women’s reservation, they had concerns about the government’s approach, especially regarding delimitation and the possibility that southern states could lose representation in Parliament.