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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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