It was evident from the swiftness with which ruling party MPs picked up placards after the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated in Parliament that the government was fully prepared for this outcome. This defeat, however, could prove decisive, as women have now seized the opportunity to push for the introduction of bills providing reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies and councils.
The Opposition, which closed ranks to defeat the Delimitation Bill, has also swung into action without missing a beat. DMK MP P. Wilson has moved a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha seeking 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, without waiting for the next Census and delimitation.
Addressing an online press conference conducted by the National Coalition for Women’s Reservation, comprising political parties, civil society members, students and concerned citizens, Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India said there was not an iota of truth in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on the night of April 18, 2026. Although he assumed office in 2014, nothing was done on women’s reservation until the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023—but even that, she argued, was done under pressure. The National Federation of Indian Women had filed a Public Interest Petition in the Supreme Court, and the court had made sharp remarks as the Union government had not filed its response for two years. Major political parties were also respondents in the matter.
Academic and activist Radha Kumar said she had a set of five questions for the Prime Minister:
1. We accept your apology to the nation, she said, but please explain why you will not support the reservation bill brought by the Opposition.
2. Support DMK MP Wilson’s bill and ensure 33% reservation not only in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies but also in the Upper Houses of states and Parliament.
3. Despite your claims of women’s empowerment, why have southern states made better progress in women’s health and education, with many of these achievements dating back over 25 years?
4. Why do BJP-ruled states rank high in crimes against women, with even BJP MPs and leaders facing accusations?
5. The Trinamool Congress has already exceeded 33% representation, with 38% of its MPs being women; the BJP has among the lowest percentages of women MPs. Why then does the BJP call for gheraoing Opposition MPs in such a context?
Annie Raja also pointed out that Union Home Minister Amit Shah made an incorrect claim in Parliament. He stated that the Geeta Mukherjee Committee—the select committee of Parliament on the Women’s Reservation Bill—had submitted its report just before the end of that parliamentary term. Raja clarified that the committee, led by CPI MP Geeta Mukherjee, had submitted its report well in time, in a record three months in December 1996; the term of the 11th Lok Sabha ended only in 1997.
Nisha Siddu of the NFIW said Prime Minister Modi must realise that women are alert and cannot be easily misled. She urged him to stop engaging in petty tactics and instead work with sincerity to bring in reservation of seats in Parliament and state assemblies and councils. She also said there is no need to address the nation using state media for what amounts to election campaigning, calling it a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. She added that the Union Home Minister must refrain from encouraging goondaism by calling for the gherao of Opposition MPs.
Women’s groups have called for the removal of the conditionalities tied to the Census and delimitation, and for the passage of a women’s reservation bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to be held in June–July this year. This, they argue, would ensure that after the next general elections, the Indian Parliament will have 33% women MPs. At present, women constitute only about 15% of MPs.
The press conference on Sunday congratulated the Opposition for its unity, which forestalled the introduction of the Delimitation Bill through the “backdoor” in the name of women’s reservation.
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*Freelance journalist
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