Congress slams PM Modi over ‘dishonest’ women’s reservation pitch, calls it ‘double-faced hypocrisy’

The Congress party lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that a proposed women's reservation bill was a "dishonest pitch," claiming the measure was unanimously approved in September 2023 but would not take effect until the 2029 Lok Sabha elections due to the BJP government's "double-faced hypocrisy." Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated in a post on X that while the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed, the Modi government's hasty and clandestine notification of the bill late on April 16, 2026, meant it would not be implemented until later.

Ramesh reminded Modi that women's reservation was originally introduced in the 1993 Constitution amendments and emphasized that Rajiv Gandhi had championed the cause. The Congress leader noted that despite the bill's passage, women's representation in political bodies had been hindered by political obstruction for four decades. In his 13th Independence Day address, Modi called on all parties to implement the 33% women's reservation in Parliament and state assemblies, lamenting the long-standing political impasse around the issue. He urged political parties to honor women's power and ensure their representation in governance.