PM Modi ‘killed’ women’s quota bill: Kharge at Bengal election rally

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on 20 April alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the failure of a Constitution amendment bill aimed at implementing women’s reservation in legislatures from 2029, asserting that the Opposition had opposed only the delimitation proposal and not the quota measure.

Addressing election rallies in Cooch Behar and Siliguri in poll-bound West Bengal, Kharge accused the Centre of attempting to push delimitation under the guise of the women’s reservation framework.

“It is you (Modi) who killed the women’s reservation bill; we fought against the Delimitation Bill and not the bill on women’s quota,” Kharge said, responding to the Prime Minister’s criticism of Opposition parties.

The remarks came a day after the Constitution amendment bill failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, triggering a political exchange between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition parties over responsibility for the setback.

Targets PM’s campaign, raises questions on timing

Kharge also criticised Modi’s extensive campaigning in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections, questioning whether the Prime Minister intended to assume a state-level role.

“Does he want to become the chief minister of West Bengal or wants to remain the country’s prime minister?” he said.

He alleged that the Prime Minister had devoted disproportionate time to campaigning, “neglecting official work”.

Referring to Modi’s recent address to the nation, Kharge claimed the speech disproportionately targeted the Congress, stating that the party was mentioned repeatedly while being blamed for the bill’s failure.

Women’s reservation, delimitation and political claims

Kharge said the Congress had a consistent record on women’s representation, recalling that a women’s reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government in 2010.

He also referred to the 2023 passage of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, which provides for one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, but is linked to the completion of a delimitation exercise after the next Census.

According to Kharge, the BJP was attempting to advance delimitation through the current legislative process, which he claimed could alter constituency boundaries in a manner unfavourable to Opposition parties.

He further alleged that the Centre was considering early general elections by advancing delimitation, a claim not independently verified.

Criticism of Centre, Bengal politics

The Congress president accused the Prime Minister of undermining democratic institutions while claiming to support women’s empowerment.

“You backstab democracy and then claim to have worked for the cause of women’s empowerment,” he said.

Kharge also criticised the political climate in West Bengal, alleging that competition between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had adversely affected the state’s development.

He claimed the state was under a debt burden of Rs 8.15 lakh crore and alleged that the Centre had not released dues amounting to Rs 2 lakh crore, though these claims were not immediately verified.

The women’s reservation framework, passed in 2023, ties implementation to delimitation following the next Census, delaying its operationalisation until at least 2034 under current provisions.

The recent failure of the amendment bill in the Lok Sabha has intensified political exchanges between the ruling party and the Opposition, with both sides attributing responsibility for the outcome.