Opposition leaders strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his national address on the defeat of the women’s reservation legislation in the Lok Sabha, calling his remarks “partisan” and “dramebaazi”. The controversy follows the rejection of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which sought to reserve one-third of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described the Prime Minister’s speech as lacking the neutrality expected of a national address. He said it was instead a politically charged attack on opposition parties, arguing that Modi should have focused on building consensus rather than assigning blame. He further accused the government of mishandling the process and criticised delays in implementing the related women’s reservation framework.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Mahua Moitra of the All India Trinamool Congress also responded sharply, calling the address “dramebaazi” and alleging that the government was attempting to divert attention from the legislative defeat. She argued that women’s reservation had already been passed earlier and accused the ruling party of using it as a political narrative rather than focusing on implementation.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien claimed the government was using women as a “decoy” to push other legislative agendas, particularly concerns around delimitation and seat redistribution. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that Modi mentioned the Congress repeatedly in his speech, arguing that the focus reflected political priorities rather than women’s empowerment.
The opposition collectively accused the Prime Minister of politicising a sensitive issue and using the national address to target rival parties. They maintained that the government’s framing of the bill’s failure as opposition obstruction was misleading, and instead called for a more constructive and inclusive approach to advancing women’s representation in politics.
