BHOPAL, 21 Apr: The Congress on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the women’s reservation law immediately by applying the 33 per cent quota to the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, rather than wait for a delimitation exercise.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress national spokesperson Ragini Nayak clarified that the women’s quota bill was not defeated in Parliament, but was unanimously passed in 2023, and remains a law today, while accusing the Modi government of failing to implement it for three years.
“Modi ji, you have one more chance. If you truly want to improve your anti-women image, accept the
Congress’ demand for reservation for women in the current 543 seats. This law should be implemented in the upcoming monsoon session, and women from backward classes should also receive a 1/3 share,” she said.
The Constitution amendment bill, implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, failed to pass in the Lower House of Parliament on 17 April. During the division of votes on the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill, 2026, 298 votes were cast in favour and 230 against.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass any constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha.
Nayak said, “No matter how many obstacles Modiji puts in the way, no matter how many ifs and buts he imposes, the Congress and its president Mallikarjun Khargeji, leaders Rahulji, and Priyanka Gandhiji are adamant that they will ensure 33 per cent reservation for women.”
The party will also not allow women from the Dalit, tribal, and backward classes to be deprived of their right to reservation, she said.
Nayak went on to assert that the women’s quota bill had not been defeated in Parliament.
“I want to make it clear that the legislation has not been defeated in Parliament. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed unanimously in 2023; it remains law today; it is just that PM Narendra Modi is not allowing it to be implemented,” she said.
She pointed out that the Modi government’s seriousness towards the reservation is evident from the fact that it issued a notification for the bill, which was passed three years ago, at 9:55 pm on 16 April.
“This means that the Modi government has been sleeping for three years, putting women’s reservation on hold, and suddenly, in the midst of the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal elections, it wakes up from its slumber and calls a special session,” Nayak remarked.
She further clarified that it wasn’t the women’s quota bill that was defeated in Parliament, but it was the constitutional amendment bill, introduced to divide the country.
Nayak asserted that the Congress will not allow a delimitation exercise that will “steal” the share of the southern, northeastern states, and smaller states, or the share of women from Dalit, tribal, and backward class communities.
The Congress leader cited former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s article, in which she stated that whenever delimitation is carried out to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats, the share of all states should be determined with “political impartiality, not merely based on arithmetic.”
Asked if the Congress would send a woman member to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming Upper House polls to prove its commitment to women’s quota issue, she said “I am not the authority to decide on the Rajya Sabha candidature, but certainly it is a good suggestion.”(PTI)
