Priyanka calls defeat of bill on women’s quota a ‘win for democracy’

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday (April 18) charged the Centre with attempting to alter India’s federal balance under the cover of women’s reservation, framing the Lok Sabha’s rejection of the proposed amendment to the quota law as a constitutional moment.

Calling it a democratic check

Speaking to reporters, she described the outcome as both a check on the government’s intentions and a sign that a coordinated opposition can still exert pressure in Parliament.

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She pressed the government to move ahead with the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, using the present strength of the Lok Sabha, rather than tying its rollout to future structural changes.

“What happened yesterday was a big win for democracy. The conspiracy to change the federal structure (of the country) was defeated. It was a victory for the Constitution, opposition unity, and the country,” said the Congress general secretary.

Reading the government’s intent

Turning to remarks made in the House a day earlier, Priyanka pointed to the tone adopted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as revealing.

“When Home Minister Amit Shah was speaking in the Lok Sabha on Friday, he said the Congress will not be able to sit on the treasury benches for years, which shows their mindset,” Priyanka said.

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She argued that the larger political calculation behind the proposal was tied to electoral timing and control. "The whole conspiracy was to stay in power. They thought that if delimitation is not done now, it would not be done before 2029 to stay in power," she said.

‘Govt gave excuse of women’

This was being done by giving the excuse of women, she said, adding that the government would have done delimitation according to its own wishes.

"They thought that if the bill passes, it is fine. If it fails, we will project the opposition as anti-women and become the messiah of women.

“It is not easy to become the messiah of women. We saw what happened to women in Hathras, what happened to our Olympic medallists, and others," Priyanka said.

Setback in the Lok Sabha

“The opposition could not have supported the move. It showed that the opposition can defeat them when united,” she added.

In a major setback to the government, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.

Also Read: Women's Quota Amendment Bill fails: Here are the key takeaways

While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

What the proposal outlined

The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the bill.

After the bill was defeated, the Congress on Friday said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation has been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.

(With agency inputs)