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COVER STORY MAY 01, 2026 | The Indian Eye 4

WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL

Fallout Sparks

Firestorm

Failure of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill has ignited a fierce confrontation between

the BJP and Opposition, with both sides accusing each other of betraying women’s rights

OUR BUREAU
Kolkata /New Delhi /Chennai/Lucknow
he collapse of the Constitution
(131st Amendment) Bill in
TParliament has spiralled into
a bitter political showdown, with the
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and Opposition parties locked in a
war of words over who is responsible
for denying women greater represen-
tation in legislatures. What began as
a legislative defeat has now evolved
into a defining political narrative
ahead of key elections, exposing deep
fault lines over intent, timing, and the
linkage of women’s reservation with
delimitation.
The Bill, which sought to expand
the strength of the Lok Sabha and
operationalize 33 per cent reserva-
tion for women, failed to secure the
required two-thirds majority, with
298 members voting in favor and 230
against. Its defeat has allowed both
sides to sharpen their political mes-
saging, each portraying itself as the
true champion of women’s empow-
erment while accusing the other of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Belur on Thursday. PM Modi has made the reservation bill
deception. a major election issue in West Bengal (ANI Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has led the charge for the BJP, fram-
ing the Bill’s rejection as a historic never forget an insult to their pride.” change.” By tying the legislative set- “Congress and its allied parties ob-
injustice to women. Addressing rallies Modi has also sought to convert back to local political grievances, the structed the bill and did not allow it to
in West Bengal, he accused Opposi- the issue into an electoral weapon, BJP is attempting to mobilize wom- be passed.” He went further, alleging
tion parties—particularly the All In- linking the Bill’s defeat to broader al- en voters as a decisive electoral bloc. that the Opposition not only blocked
dia Trinamool Congress (TMC)—of legations of misgovernance and injus- Union Minister Srinivasa Varma the legislation but “even celebrated
actively undermining women’s rights. tice. He claimed that women in Ben- echoed this line, accusing the Opposi- its defeat,” calling it an “injustice and
“TMC voted against it. The TMC gal are “among the biggest victims of tion of deliberately blocking reforms. insult to women.”
usurped the rights of the women of this insensitive government” and as- He said the government had intro- Senior BJP leader Basavaraj S
Bengal,” he said, adding that “women serted that their participation in large duced the Women’s Reservation Bill Bommai reinforced the narrative of
may forget everything else, but they numbers at rallies signalled a “wave of in 2023 “with good intentions,” but Continued on next page... >>

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