Misled nation over delimitation bill, says CM Mamata Banerjee on PM’s address

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent address to the nation, accusing him of misleading the public on the proposed delimitation exercise and women’s reservation.

In a detailed post on X, Banerjee asserted that the All India Trinamool Congress has consistently championed women’s representation in legislatures. “It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to mislead the nation rather than address it honestly,” she said, highlighting that women make up 37.9 per cent of her party’s Lok Sabha MPs and 46 per cent of its Rajya Sabha nominees. “The question of opposing Women’s Reservation does not arise and never has,” she added.

Her remarks came a day after the Centre failed to secure passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, which sought to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. In his address, Modi had accused the Opposition of “committing a foeticide of the idea of women’s representation” by opposing the move.

Banerjee, however, said her party’s opposition was directed at the proposed delimitation exercise, not women’s reservation. “What we are fundamentally opposed to is the delimitation exercise… using women as a shield for its vested political agenda,” she said, alleging attempts to redraw political boundaries to favour BJP-ruled states.

Calling it an assault on “federal democracy”, she accused the Centre of trying to alter the constitutional balance envisioned by B.R. Ambedkar. She also questioned the timing of the move, asking why the government delayed implementation of the 2023 women’s reservation law and then sought to push related measures during an election period.

“If this government was genuinely serious… why wait nearly three years… and why couple it with delimitation?” she asked, adding that the Trinamool Congress would continue to support women’s empowerment but would resist “gerrymandering” and central overreach.

In a direct challenge, Banerjee urged the Prime Minister to address such issues in Parliament. “The next time you address the nation, have the courage to do so from the Floor of Parliament… where you are subject to scrutiny, challenge and accountability,” she said, calling the address “cowardly, hypocritical and fork-tongued”.

With IANS inputs