Congress calls defeat of women’s quota bill ‘victory for democracy’, accuses Centre of flip-flop
The party reiterated its support for the immediate implementation of the Women Reservation Act, 2023 and alleged that the proposed changes were linked to limiting political gains.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said people understood the government’s intention, claiming that the sole purpose behind bringing the Constitution amendment bill was to remain in power permanently.
“What happened yesterday was a very important victory for democracy. The government’s conspiracy to change the federal structure and weaken democracy was defeated and stopped.”
“This was a victory for the Constitution, the country and the unity of the opposition. This was clearly visible on the faces of the leaders in power,” he told reporters.
He claimed that the government plans to use the bill to its advantage in the 2029 general elections. “This is not about reservation for women, it is about limitation,” she said.
Reacting to the government calling it a “dark day” after the bill failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi demanded the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, after a constitutional amendment introduced by the Modi government was not passed in Parliament for the first time. “The Modi government has received its first jolt and that is why it is calling it ‘Dark Day’. This jolt was much needed,” he said.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party’s stand on immediate implementation of reservations for women in legislatures remains consistent. He alleged that the Narendra Modi government has “consistently gone wrong” on this issue and is trying to make “insidious” changes in the country’s politics.
Ramesh said the Congress, in its Nyay Patra manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, had flagged the “sinister” link between the government’s restriction and women’s reservation and promised immediate implementation of the quota.
“Our stand was the same in September 2023, in June 2024 and now in April 2026. The Modi government, on the other hand, has continually flipped with its shifting stances coupled with mere indifference to women’s representation and an attempt to make insidious and far-reaching changes in our polity on behalf of women,” Ramesh said on X. he said.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also said that the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill was not only a political setback for the BJP but also a rejection of its intentions.
He alleged that the ruling party was using women’s reservation as a cover to pursue a larger scheme to amend the Constitution and eliminate reservations for Dalits and tribals.
Addressing a press conference, Reddy said the government’s intentions were never honest.
“The so-called reservation law for women was based on limiting and increasing seats. If the real aim was women’s reservation, a simple amendment was all that was required,” he said.
Priyanka Gandhi also said that Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks in the Lok Sabha that the Congress cannot sit on the treasury benches for years reflect the mindset of the government.
“The whole conspiracy was to stay in power permanently,” he said, claiming that the BJP had a track record on women’s issues.
He also claimed that the ruling party wanted to avoid restriction after caste census. “This was done using women’s rights as an excuse. The government would make restrictions according to its own wishes,” he said.
“They thought that if the bill is passed, it will be their victory and if the bill is not passed, they will label the opposition as anti-women. The BJP wanted to prove itself as the messiah of women. But it is not easy to be the messiah of women. We have seen what happened to women in Hathras, what happened to our Olympic medalists and others,” he said.
The Congress leader said the entire country saw how the Modi government was defeated when the opposition was united.
“The opposition could not support this move (restriction). This (voting for the women’s reservation bill) showed that the opposition, united, could defeat them (the government).” he added.
Asked how this would counter the BJP’s attempts to label the opposition as “anti-women”, Gandhi said: “The people continue to suffer from many issues… and can see their narrative.”
She added that women were becoming increasingly aware of the government’s “public relations and media tactics” and that such strategies would no longer work.
“The people of the country are aware; the government cannot mislead them,” she said, adding that public trust in the government has already eroded.
In a major setback for the government, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which envisaged giving 33 per cent seat to women in legislatures by 2029 and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, was rejected in the Lower House on Friday.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it.
