'Opposition to face consequences for their mistake': PM Modi on Women’s Reservation Bill

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a scathing attack on the Opposition for defeating the Constitution Amendment Bill on women’s reservation in Parliament, saying they will have to face the consequences.

The bill which proposes to implement 33% reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 failed to pass the Parliament test on Friday with 230 members voting against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes to secure a two-thirds majority.

Modi said at a cabinet meeting on Saturday that the Opposition would have to face consequences of the mistake they committed.

"They have let down the women of the country. This message must be taken to every single person, to every single village," sources quoted the prime minister as saying, the NDTV reported.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have announced a massive nationwide campaign against the Opposition after the Women’s Reservation Bill was defeated in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Congress and its allies asserted that the quota law, passed in 2023, should be implemented immediately and accused the government of playing politics over it. The Opposition leaders accused the government of using the issue for political gain in Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Constitution amendment bill has nothing to do with women's reservation and is instead an attempt to change the country's electoral map to retain power.

The BJP, however, termed the development a "black day" and accused the Congress and other opposition parties of betraying women. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the Congress and the Opposition will have to face the anger of women across the country and accused them of permanently "damaging their credibility".