New Delhi [India], April 20 : Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday alleged that the push around women's reservation was driven by political survival rather than genuine intent, stating that "for the BJP, it was a matter of the BJP's preservation and remaining in power, not women's reservation."
Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament marked a significant moment for the Opposition. "In the three-day special session of Parliament, we witnessed the victory of democracy, the Constitution and the federal structure. The politics of the bulldozer and delimitation stood defeated. The issue was about delimitation, not women's reservation," he said.
He further added that the Opposition remained united, stating, "The Opposition remained 'atal'. The unity and solidarity of the Opposition won. This has happened for the first time in the last 12 years. They could not break the unity among the Opposition."
The Bill, which proposed increasing the Lok Sabha strength from 543 to 816 seats with 33 per cent reservation for women, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, receiving 298 votes in favour and 230 against. Following this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the legislation had not passed, prompting the government to drop the linked Delimitation Bill and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.
Ramesh questioned the government's intent, pointing out that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, passed unanimously in September 2023, was not implemented earlier.
"Suddenly, the bill was notified in the night on April 16. What is your (BJP) intention? What was the hurry?" he asked, adding, "Another thing is - the strength of Lok Sabha is 543, why constitutional bill not mention that the share of states will be increased proportionately, while the Home Minister stated it in the House. What is the intention? How can we trust someone who speaks something, but the bill doesn't mention what he says?"
He further claimed that recent delimitation exercises in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir were "dangerous and not assuring."
He accused the government of avoiding caste census, stating, "There is no information on how the govt will conduct cast census...The way delimitation has been done in Assam and J&K, it is dangerous and not assuring. Why do you run away from caste census?"
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks following the defeat of the bill Ramesh said, "The women are not fools, they know everything. Today, there are 15 lakh women representatives in Panchayats and Nagar Nigams. It is not because of the BJP but Congress. We demand that the government implements reservation for women from 2029 and include OBC and tribal women too. For the BJP, it was a matter of the BJP's preservation and remaining in power, not women's reservation," he said.
Calling for consensus, Ramesh urged the government to convene an all-party meeting after April 29 and bring amendments in the Monsoon Session. "Even today, we are saying that call an all-party meeting after 29th April, mention in writing the amendments you want to make and pass it in Monsoon Session to make amendments to the Women's Reservation Bill," he said.
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