The bill does not aim to provide reservations for women but seeks to alter India’s electoral framework, according to the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
Speaking to reporters after the failure of the Constitution amendment bill to gain a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi emphasized that if the prime minister is genuinely interested in ensuring women reservation in Parliament, he should propose the 2023 law, and the opposition would fully support it.
“As I have stated, this was an assault on the Constitution, and we have defeated it,” he remarked outside Parliament.
“We made it clear that this was not a women’s bill but rather an effort to change India’s electoral structure, which we have successfully stopped,” he added.
Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly, Gandhi urged him to bring forth the 2023 law for the women’s bill and implement it immediately.
“The entire opposition will back you and ensure women’s reservation starts today,” he asserted.
Also Read: Lok Sabha votes against Constitution Amendment Bill for delimitation
Later, in a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi remarked, “The amendment bill has failed. They employed an unconstitutional tactic under the guise of women to undermine the Constitution.” “India has witnessed this. INDIA has halted it. Long live the Constitution,” the Congress leader declared.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remarked that the government’s attempt to connect the bill with delimitation is unacceptable.
“The manner in which the Modi government handled women’s reservation made its passage impossible. The BJP linked women’s reservation to delimitation and the old census, excluding the OBC category.
“We cannot accept this. What transpired today is a tremendous victory for the country’s democracy and its integrity,” she told reporters.
In response to BJP leaders accusing the Congress of being anti-women, Priyanka said, “Those who did nothing in Hathras, those who did nothing in Unnao, those who did nothing in Manipur, and those who did nothing for women wrestlers are now discussing an anti-woman mentality?” The Constitution amendment bill proposing 33 percent reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and the increase in Lok Sabha seats was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.
While 298 members voted in favor of the bill, 230 MPs opposed it. Out of 528 members who cast their votes, the bill needed 352 votes to achieve a two-thirds majority.
The bill sought to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to “operationalize” the women’s reservation law prior to the 2029 parliamentary elections, following a delimitation process based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be expanded in state and union territory assemblies to accommodate the 33 percent reservation for women.
