BJP Criticizes Opposition for Voting Against Women's Reservation Bill

Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders sharpened their campaign against the Opposition for voting against the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to fast-track the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816.Addressing a rally in West Bengal’s Bankura district, Modi accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of “betraying” women for preventing the passage of the Bill in Parliament, and said women would punish it in the upcoming Assembly polls.Earlier, he had addressed the nation on Saturday evening and said Indian women will not forgive the Congress, TMC, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in power in poll-bound Tamil Nadu) and Samajwadi Party. He added that they will pay for the “sin” of opposing the bill.The Centre on Sunday came out with a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs), where it argued that the current Census and subsequent delimitation period will take time, and the 131st constitutional amendment was brought to delink implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2023) from the condition that the 33 per cent reservation will be based on the Census conducted after 2026 so that the quota could be implemented by the 2029 general elections. It added that no changes were proposed to the Delimitation Commission Act.The Centre said all states would have seen a uniform 50 per cent increase in seats. Southern states would not have faced any reduction in representation; rather, their overall share would have remained stable, according to the FAQs.Also ReadKey Constitution Amendment Bills since 2014: A look at how they faredpremiumStatsGuru: Women's fair political representation still a far crypremiumBill of contention: Failure highlights lack of consensus-buildingpremiumGovt issues FAQs to counter Opposition's claim on Women's reservation BillStop lying to the nation: Congress slams PM's address, cites MCC violationCongress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the FAQs are “silent on the real questions about delimitation that were asked by the entire Opposition during the debate.”At a public meeting in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh slammed allies Congress and DMK for voting against the Bill. He said that “no power in the world” can stop the central government from implementing one-third reservation for women in legislatures.The Opposition responded by pointing out that it defeated the government’s intent to implement delimitation, and not the women’s quota Bill.In a post on X, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused Modi of “misusing” government machinery for political campaigns. The Congress demanded immediate implementation of women's reservation on the existing Lok Sabha strength and staged a protest at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.