New Delhi [India], April 18 : Former Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Saturday unleashed a scathing critique of the Opposition on Saturday, following the dramatic failure of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking with ANI, Irani accused the unified Opposition of "crushing the aspirations" of Indian women and characterised their celebration of the Bill's defeat as a dark day for Indian democracy.
Irani took particular aim at the optics within the House after the vote, suggesting that the Opposition's rare show of unity was reserved specifically for blocking gender-based progress.
"Yesterday, the people of the country witnessed the opposition's celebration. An opposition that dared to defeat the political ambitions of ordinary women. Every citizen saw the spectacle of the opposition uniting and crushing the political aspirations of women," she said.
She highlighted a perceived double standard, noting that the Opposition often remains fragmented on issues of national security and development, yet found common ground to stall the 33% reservation.
"Yesterday, every citizen of the country witnessed the spectacle of the opposition uniting and crushing the political aspirations of women... Yesterday, the country saw that the opposition, which never unites on any security issue, did not unite on the issue of national development. That opposition united only to defeat ordinary women of the country," she said.
A central point of Irani's argument was the rebuttal of the Opposition's claim that the Billwhich links reservation to the census and delimitationwas an "assault on democracy."
"If 33% reservation is being given to the women of the country, then why is the opposition saying that democracy is being strangled? Yesterday, every citizen of the country witnessed the spectacle of the opposition uniting and crushing the political aspirations of women."
The former minister argued that by voting against the Bill, the Opposition had "revealed its true intent," positioning itself as a barrier to the empowerment of the grassroots "Nari Shakti" (Woman Power) that the government has long championed.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which aimed to provide 33 per cent reservation for women, failed to pass in the Lok Sabha amid opposition resistance.
The remarks come a day after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority to pass the amendment bill. In the Lok Sabha voting, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre would not proceed with the remaining interlinked legislations.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of blocking women's reservation, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support the quota but oppose its linkage with delimitation.
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