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Informist, Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

 

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--PM: Opposition can't stop women's participation in Parliament, assemblies 
--PM Modi:Won't stop our efforts, have to fulfil promise on women reservation 
--PM Modi on women's reservation bill: Will not give up 
--PM Modi: Sure of 100% support, blessings from country's women 
--PM Modi: Will remove every hurdle on path to women's reservation 
--PM Modi: Fight not for one law but against Congress' anti-reform mindset 
--PM Modi: Other nations surpassed us because Congress opposed reforms 
--PM Modi: India didn't reach the rightful global position because of Cong 
--PM Modi: Congress creates hurdles in steps towards strengthening nation 
--PM Modi: Congress has history of opposing reforms 
--PM Modi: By not supporting Bill, Congress proved it is anti-reform party 
--PM Modi: People of opposition-ruled states cheated on Delimitation Bill 
--PM Modi: Congress, opposition regularly spread falsehood on delimitation 
--PM Modi:Opposition doesn't want women from outside their famies to progress 
--PM Modi: Opposition parties have always robbed country's women 
--PM Modi: Congress lost chance of standing for women by not passing Bill 
--PM Modi: Congress hates the topic of women reservation 
--PM Modi: Delimitation Bill would have empowered all states 
--PM Modi: Constitution Amendment Bill to implement women quota need of hour 
--PM Modi: Those who defeated the women reservation bill will face results 
--PM Modi:Women reservation bill wasn't about snatching anything from anyone 
--PM Modi: Country's women will remember those responsible for failing them 
--PM Modi: Motives of Cong, DMK, TMC, SP defeated welfare of India's women 
--CONTEXT: PM Modi's comments in an address to the nation 
--CONTEXT: Lok Sabha rejected Amendment Bill to implement women's quota 
--PM Modi: Aspirations of women of the country have been squashed 
 

 

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an all-out attack against the Congress and other opposition parties, saying they had "committed bhroon hatya (female foeticide)" by not supporting The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2023, to implement reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies. Modi said opposition parties would be punished for failing to pass the Bill.

 

He said a woman can forget everything, but never an insult. The behaviour of the Congress and its allies in Parliament will remain a lasting pain in every woman's heart, Modi said. It was deeply painful to see that when this proposal in the interest of women was defeated, parties like the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Samajwadi Party and the All India Trinamool Congress were applauding, he said. After taking away women's rights, they were thumping their desks, he said.

 

"I will say clearly to those parties who opposed the Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment in Parliament yesterday. These people are taking women's power for granted. They are forgetting that women of the twenty-first century are closely monitoring every event in the country," said Modi. The women of the country understand the opposition's intentions and are fully aware of the truth, he said. The Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party and All India Trinamool Congress are against the Constitution of India and the women of the country, he said.

 

The prime minister said that the Congress and other opposition parties have made the same excuse all these years. Raising some technical issues, these parties have looted the rights of women and the nation has understood this ugly pattern of politics and the reason behind this, he said.

 

He said he hoped the Congress would rectify its decades-old mistake and atone for its sins. But the Congress lost the opportunity to script history and stand in support of women, said Modi. Congress has lost its existence in most of the regions of the country, he said. Like a parasite, Congress piggyrides regional parties and keeps itself alive, he said.

 

The Congress does not even want regional parties to grow stronger, he said. As such, the Congress hatched a political conspiracy of pushing the future of several regional parties into darkness by making them oppose this amendment, the prime minister said. The Congress is an anti-reform party, he said, adding that it protests against all initiatives that are launched to bring reforms. The moment the Congress hears about reforms, it uses its full force to stop it, Modi said. India could not reach the peak of development because of the Congress, said Modi, adding that countries that got independence along with India were way ahead. 

 

The opposition fears if women become powerful, they will be a threat to family-run parties, said Modi. He pulled up the Samajwadi Party and said it was also against women reservation and the women of Uttar Pradesh and the country won't forget them.

 

Speaking about the Delimitation Bill, which the government withdrew after the Constitution Amendment Bill was not passed, Modi said the Congress and its friends were constantly lying about delimitation. "We have been saying each state's representation would increase proportionately. If this Bill had passed, all states would've benefitted. But Opposition parties have cheated their own people," said Modi. 

 

Apologising to the women of the country for not being able to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, Modi said, "We will remove all obstacles that come in the way of women's reservation, I promise". It's just a matter of time, Bharatiya Janata Party and National Democratic Alliance resolve to ensure women's reservation is strong. 

 

"I am as sad as all women who are unhappy over the non-passage of the Bill. We may not have been able to garner 66% vote in its support, but 100% of Nari Shakti is with us," Modi said, vowing to overcome all hurdles in implementing women's reservation. He said that opposition parties couldn't stop women's participation in Parliament and legislative assemblies. The Bharatiya Janata Party, he said, wouldn't stop its efforts and give up, but fulfil its promise on women reservation at all costs.

 

The government Friday failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed in the Lok Sabha to pass The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill. The bill was to pave the way for an 850-member Lok Sabha and expanded state legislative assemblies and the implementation of reservation for women from the next general elections, due in 2029.

 

Following the defeat, the government withdrew The Delimitation Bill, 2026, and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Delimitation Bill was to enable the redrawing of Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies. The second bill was to align electoral and administrative provisions in the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi with the changes proposed under the women's reservation and delimitation-related legislation.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi and Sagar Sen

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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