New Delhi [India], April 18 (ANI): Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Saturday criticised the Opposition after the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, alleging that the Congress party had obstructed a major initiative aimed at women’s empowerment and asserting that women voters would respond politically to the development.
Reacting to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s remarks terming the Bill’s defeat as a “victory for democracy,” Singh said the Opposition was celebrating what he described as the setback of a historic initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for women’s representation.
“The Opposition is saying the fall of this Bill is a historic step. In their view, it is historic because they have brought down the Prime Minister’s efforts for women’s empowerment in this country,” Singh told ANI.
He said the proposed legislation aimed to ensure justice for women, who constitute nearly half of the country’s population, by providing a 33 per cent reservation in Parliament.
“Half the population is women, and giving 33 per cent reservation to them in Parliament was a step to do justice to them. Now they are feeling great satisfaction by bringing it down,” he added.
Targeting the Congress party, the Union Minister alleged that it had historically opposed major social reforms.
“This is Congress’s character. They have always tried to bring down the steps of social change or social revolution in society. This has been their history from the beginning,” Singh said.
He further claimed that women voters across the country would politically respond to the Opposition’s stand on the Bill.
“The women power of this country will cast every single vote against the Congress party,” he said.
The remarks come after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which was linked to implementing women’s reservation through delimitation. In the voting held after a marathon debate, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it, leading to its defeat.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass as it fell short of the constitutional threshold. The government had introduced three interlinked legislations, including the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later said the remaining bills would not be pursued.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier accused opposition parties of blocking a key reform aimed at granting 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.
Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support women’s reservation but opposed linking it with delimitation, calling the move an attempt to alter India’s electoral structure. (ANI)