Cong attacks Modi’s Lok Sabha speech, alleges deliberate silence on delimitation

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his speech in the Lok Sabha, accusing him of sidestepping the key issue of delimitation and ignoring concerns raised by the Opposition and states.

In a detailed post on X, Ramesh criticised the Prime Minister’s address during the special parliamentary session, saying it failed to engage with the core subject under discussion.

“Unusually, the Prime Minister, who portrays himself as unmarried and without a family, delivered a speech of just 40 minutes in the Lok Sabha today. And true to his nature, he spoke on every topic except the central issue of this special session—delimitation. He did not address even a single concern raised on this matter,” Ramesh said.

‘No consultation, no clarity’

Ramesh alleged that despite repeated calls for bipartisan engagement, the government had not made efforts to build consensus.

“The Prime Minister repeatedly appealed for bipartisan cooperation and the unanimous passage of these bills. Unfortunately, his government has done nothing to build bipartisan trust,” he said.

He further claimed that the Centre had not consulted political parties or state governments.

“The truth is that the government rejected the repeated demands of the Leader of the Opposition to convene an all-party meeting… The government has not consulted any state government, either formally or informally,” he said.

Ramesh also questioned the lack of clarity in the proposed legislation.

“The government has also refused to explicitly state in the law how delimitation will be carried out, and instead has introduced bills that pose a risk of fundamentally altering the composition of the Lok Sabha,” he said.

‘Concerns of states ignored’

The Congress leader accused the Prime Minister of dismissing concerns raised by various states.

“By dismissing serious concerns… as ‘technical excuses,’ the Prime Minister has deliberately ignored the anxieties of multiple states in South, East, North-East, and North India,” he said.

He added that “the legitimate concerns of the people in these regions have been dismissed in an utterly insensitive manner,” and claimed that voters in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal would respond electorally.

OBC quota within women’s reservation

Ramesh also flagged the issue of sub-quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) within the proposed women’s reservation framework.

“In his speech today, the Prime Minister conveniently referenced his caste background. But he said nothing on the issue… We must provide for reservations within women's reservations for women of Other Backward Classes (OBC),” he said.

“Yet the Prime Minister is deliberately turning a deaf ear to this demand, even as he flaunts his identity for political gain,” Ramesh added.

The Congress leader also took aim at what he described as selective acknowledgement of policy achievements.

“The Prime Minister also indirectly acknowledged that political awareness among women… has increased due to reservations for women in local bodies. But he failed to mention that this grassroots change is the result of the vision of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,” he said.

Ramesh framed the issue as one concerning constitutional principles, alleging that the government’s approach could weaken institutional structures.

“The real issue is India’s Constitution. In this duplicitous attempt to weaken the Constitution and seize control of the system, the Modi government will certainly face defeat in the Lok Sabha at 4 PM tomorrow,” he said.

“The division of votes when the bill was introduced was just a glimpse of that,” he added.

The remarks come amid an ongoing special session of Parliament where the government has introduced bills related to delimitation and the implementation of the women’s reservation law, triggering sharp political exchanges between the ruling side and the Opposition.