New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Upping the ante against the Centre after a Constitution amendment bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha, the Congress held 26 press conferences across the country on Tuesday and alleged that the real purpose of the just-concluded special sitting of Parliament was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s preservation through delimitation, not women’s reservation.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said 26 press conferences were held in 26 cities by women leaders of the party, “exposing the real purpose of the just-concluded special session of Parliament”.
He alleged that the real purpose of the Parliament’s sitting was “Modi preservation through delimitation, not women’s reservation”.
Addressing a press conference in Jaipur, Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba alleged that the “anti-women” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deliberately delayed the implementation of the women’s-reservation law.
She said the legislation was passed unanimously in 2023, but the Centre failed to notify the law for nearly 30 months.
“The government attempted to mislead the public by convening a special session of Parliament during ongoing elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” Lamba told reporters at the Congress office in Jaipur.
“This was not about bringing a women’s-reservation law. That law has already been passed. What the government brought was linked to delimitation, but it was presented in a way to create confusion,” she said.
Lamba said the opposition had sought an all-party meeting before the special sitting of Parliament, but the government shared no proposal. She also questioned the timing of the sitting, saying several members of the House were busy campaigning.
“The session could have been held after the elections or even during the Monsoon Session. The voices of the MPs involved in the elections should also have been heard,” she said.
She also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation, alleging that it was political in nature and that he only abused the opposition.
Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak clarified that the women’s-quota bill was not defeated in Parliament, but was unanimously passed in 2023, and remains law today, while accusing the Modi government of failing to implement it for three years.
“Modiji, you have one more chance. If you truly want to improve your anti-women image, accept the Congress’s demand for reservation for women in the current 543 seats (of the Lok Sabha). This law should be implemented in the upcoming Monsoon Session and women from backward classes should also receive a one-third share,” she said.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 parliamentary polls, failed to pass in the Lower House of Parliament on April 17.
During the division of votes on the bill, 298 votes were cast in favour and 230 against.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass a Constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Anjali Nimbalkar alleged that the BJP is trying to use the women’s-quota legislation as a shield for the 2029 election by insisting on a delimitation exercise, instead of providing immediate representation.
Addressing a press conference in Goa’s Panaji, Nimbalkar asserted that the Congress is not against reservation for women, but is not in favour of delimitation to increase the number of seats in Parliament to help the BJP.
Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan accused the BJP-led Centre of spreading misleading information regarding women’s reservation and alleged that the saffron party is not serious about implementing the 33-per cent quota, despite the law receiving the president’s assent in 2023.
Addressing a press conference at the Rajiv Bhawan in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, Ranjan said the Centre could immediately enforce the reservation within the current 543-member strength of the Lok Sabha based on the 2023 legislation.
She claimed that everyone from the prime minister to chief ministers and BJP leaders has been making “false claims” about the opposition’s stand on the women’s-reservation bill.
Ranjan noted that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (128th Constitution Amendment Bill) was passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2023 and had received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent.
“Why is the BJP not implementing the 2023 law? The reservation for women can be enforced immediately on this basis,” she said.
Slamming the BJP over the issue, Congress’s Kumari Selja held a press conference in Chandigarh, Rajini Patil in Ahmedabad, Varsha Gaikwad in Mumbai, Dipika Pandey in Patna, Praniti Shinde in Lucknow, Supriya Shrinate in Dehradun, Shobha Oza in Delhi, Netta D’Souza in Varanasi, Geeta Bhukkal in Jammu, Szarita Laitphlang in Srinagar, Mahima Singh in Bhubaneswar, Shilpi Arora in Indore, Divya Madernna in Guwahati, Dolly Sharma in Jalandhar, Pooja Tripathi in Ajmer, Chayanika Uniyal in Surat, Sadhna Bharti in Kanpur, Amrit Gill in Agra, Avni Bansal in Nagpur, Nighat Abbas in Pune, Subhashini Yadav in Rajkot and Pankhuri Pathak in Udaipur.
The opposition party’s attack came days after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement the women’s quota and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to up to 850 was defeated in the Lower House.
The bill had proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to up to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s-reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census data.
The number of seats was also to be increased in the assemblies of states and Union territories to accommodate the 33-per cent quota for women. PTI ASK RC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.