PM Modi to address the nation at 8.30 pm after women’s reservation bill fails to muster support

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8.30 pm on Saturday. The government and the ruling party have not yet shared anything about the subject the PM may speak about, but it is likely that he will dwell on the issue of implementing the women’s quota and the developments in Parliament, where opposition parties voted against the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.

The PM’s address to the nation comes a day after a major setback for the NDA government in the Lok Sabha, where the Constitution Amendment Bill linked to the Women’s Reservation policy failed to pass.

The proposed legislation, tied to the implementation of women’s reservation through delimitation, required a two-thirds majority but fell short after a lengthy and heated debate.

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In the voting, 298 members supported the bill, while 230 opposed it, resulting in its defeat. The voting outcome is a rare legislative loss for the government on a key reform measure it had been pushing.

PM Modi’s last address to the nation was on September 21, when he spoke about GST reforms.

Under the bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased up to 816 from the current 543 to ‘operationalise’ the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

A two-thirds majority was needed to pass the bill, but the NDA could not muster the numbers.

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Opposition blocking women’s reservation, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of blocking women’s reservation, while opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support the quota but oppose its linkage to delimitation.

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that the defeat of the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha should not be viewed as a failure of the government and accused the Congress party of causing a big setback to the country. Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the Budget session, Rijiju said that the opposition will have to bear the brunt of being anti-women.

“The Budget Session was extended for three days April 16, 17, 18 during which Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and Delimitation Bill were introduced. We have the majority, but we didn’t get the 2/3rd majority needed for Constitution Amendment,” Rijiju said. “Congress will have to face the anger of women; celebrating women’s defeat is proof of their anti-women mindset,” he added.

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‘Victory of democracy’: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that Centre was planning to stay in power using women. She hailed the defeat of the Delimitation Bill as a “victory of democracy” and accused the Centre of hatching a conspiracy to alter the federal structure of the country.

BJP leader Smriti Irani lashed out at Congress MPs celebrating the defeat of the bill and accused the party of crushing the aspirations of ordinary women in the country.

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“The Congress party appeared self-congratulatory, smiling and thumping desks, celebrating what was portrayed as having crushed the aspirations of ordinary women in this country,” she added.

The BJP has accused opposition parties of blocking a historic reform aimed at ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.