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    EYE ON INDIA                                                             APRIL 24, 2026    |  The Indian Eye                    8

             A Reform or a Political Reset?

             Who Benefits from Clash Over

                        Women’s Reservation Bill

                     As Parliament debates a historic expansion of women’s political representation, sharp

                  disagreements over timing, structure, and intent have triggered a fierce political showdown.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            mocracy,” and urged MPs not to let
                                                                                                                  the opportunity slip. “We are going
            Chennai
                                                                                                                  to give the country a new direction,”
               n the charged atmosphere of the                                                                    he said, linking women’s participa-
               Lok Sabha, Narendra Modi and                                                                       tion to a broader transformation of
            Ithe opposition found themselves                                                                      governance and political culture.
            locked in a high-stakes confronta-                                                                        For the opposition, however, the
            tion  over the Women’s Reservation                                                                    concern  is  that the  government  is
            Amendment  Bill  and  the  accompa-                                                                   bundling a widely supported reform
            nying Delimitation proposals—turn-                                                                    with contentious structural changes,
            ing what could have been a moment                                                                     thereby reshaping the political land-
            of consensus into a deeply contested                                                                  scape in its favour. Priyanka Gand-
            political battleground.                                                                               hi went further, accusing the ruling
                At  the  heart  of  the  debate  lies                                                             party of trying to project itself as the
            not the principle of women’s reserva-                                                                 “champion” of women’s reservation
            tion—on which there is broad agree-                                                                   while sidelining the historical contri-
            ment—but the method and timing of                                                                     butions of others.
            its implementation. Modi, defending                                                                       She traced the origins of wom-
            the government’s approach, sought                                                                     en’s political rights in India back to
            to position the legislation as a histor-                                                              early Congress efforts, citing figures
            ic opportunity, while simultaneously                                                                  like Motilal Nehru and the Karachi
            accusing the opposition of politicis-  Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speaks in the Lok Sabha during the during the special   resolution  of  1931.  She  also  point-
            ing a transformative reform.           session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on Thursday. (Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab)  ed to more recent attempts under
                “Some  people  think  that  there                                                                 Congress governments, including
            is a political self-interest of Modi in                                                               the passage of a women’s reservation
            this,” he remarked during the de-  While reiterating support for reser-  expansion of Lok Sabha seats—from   bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 under
            bate, acknowledging the criticism but   vation in principle, she argued that   543 to 850—based on the 2011 Cen-  Manmohan Singh. Her argument
            turning it on its head. “If they oppose   the current model risks excluding key   sus. According to her, this approach   was clear: the idea is not new, and
            it, it is natural that I will gain political   social groups and distorting federal   raises  serious  questions  about  rep-  credit cannot be monopolised.
            benefit, but if they walk along, no one   balance.                  resentation,  particularly  for  OBC   The political messaging on both
            will gain any political advantage.” In                              communities, whose data is not ade-  sides is unmistakable. Modi’s asser-
            a mix of sarcasm and political mes-  “The government is trying to  quately captured in that census.   tion that “women have not forgotten
            saging, he added, “I’m ready to run   befool people and is attacking    “They want to move forward with   those who have stood against their
            ads tomorrow thanking everyone…                                     the 2011 census because there are no   rights” hints at an electoral strategy
            Take the credit… whichever photo  the integrity of the country in  figures for the OBC community in it,”   aimed at consolidating women vot-
            you want printed.”                a big way,” she alleged, warn-    she said, framing the issue as one of ex-  ers. The opposition, in turn, is at-
                Modi’s pitch was clear: unity                                   clusion rather than inclusion. She also   tempting to reframe the debate from
            would neutralise political gains, but  ing that “the rights of OBCs  flagged the absence of a “clear pro-  empowerment to equity—arguing
            opposition would only strengthen his   are sought to be taken away   cess” for how such a massive restruc-  that without safeguards for OBCs
            hand. It was both an invitation and a                               turing of parliamentary seats would   and clarity on delimitation, the re-
            challenge—one that the opposition  silently and democracy is being  be carried out, calling it “dangerous.”  form could deepen inequalities.
            was quick to reject.              blown to smithereens by reduc-        This clash reveals a deeper po-   What complicates matters fur-
                Leading the charge, Priyanka                                    litical  fault  line.  For  Modi,  the  bill   ther is the timeline. The government
            Gandhi Vadra mounted a sharp cri-  ing power of some states.”       represents  a  legacy-defining  re-  has proposed implementing the res-
            tique of the government’s frame-                                    form—“an important moment in the   ervation  from  the  2029  Lok  Sabha
            work, accusing it of undermining      Her  objections  focused  on  the   life of a country,” as he described it.   elections, a delay that the opposition
            democratic principles while claiming   structural link between the Women’s   He invoked India’s democratic tra-  questions. Why not sooner, they ask,
            credit for women’s empowerment.   Reservation Bill and the proposed   dition, calling it the “Mother of De-  especially if the political will exists?

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