Congress slams PM Modi’s women’s quota appeal as ‘drama’

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing 'drama' over the women's reservation bill and said his single-point agenda is 'Modi preservation', not women's quota. Ramesh urged the government to implement the 33 per cent reservation for women on the current strength of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 general elections, instead of linking it with delimitation.

The New Indian Express reports that Ramesh was responding to Modi's Independence Day appeal to opposition parties to support the delimitation-linked women's reservation bill. The bill, which sought to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 and reserve 33 per cent for women, was defeated in Lok Sabha on April 17 after failing to secure the required two-thirds majority. Of the 528 MPs who voted, 298 supported the bill and 230 opposed it.

Ramesh reminded that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed unanimously in September 2023 and notified only on April 16, 2026, while the delimitation issue was being deliberated. He said the government lacks a two-thirds majority and 'will never get it'. The constitutional amendment bill could not be brought even in the Monsoon Session.