Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 19 : Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President N Ramchander Rao on Sunday said the "Congress party is jittery" following the address to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that it exposed the INDIA bloc's position on the women's reservation issue.
Rao further alleged that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are attempting to "wash away their sins" by defending their stand after opposing the women's reservation legislation.
Speaking to ANI, Ramchander Rao said, "The Congress party is jittery about the address to the nation by the Prime Minister as he has addressed the nation by clarifying the government's stand and by exposing the Congress and INDI alliance's stand."
He asserted that women have been deprived of adequate representation in Parliament and State Assemblies due to the opposition's stance.
"Today, the Congress and its leaders, mainly Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, are trying to wash away their sins because they have attacked the rights of the 50% population of the country. The women have lost the opportunity to be represented in the Assembly and Parliament," he said.
The BJP leader further stated that the Prime Minister has the support of women voters across the country and asserted that the electorate would respond politically against Congress.
"Instead of feeling shy, today both the leaders are trying to attack the Prime Minister... The Prime Minister has got the blessings of 50% of the population, who are women, and I'm sure that people will definitely punish the Congress leaders..." he added.
His remarks come after Prime Minister Modi criticised the Opposition over the women's reservation issue, stating that their actions had "crushed" the aspirations of women despite the government's efforts to implement the bill.
In his address on Saturday, PM Modi pointed out that the defeat of this bill is a direct blow to the self-respect of women, an insult that the female electorate will permanently engrave in their memories. "Women may forget everything else, but they never forget an insult to their pride," PM Modi said in his address to the nation on Saturday.
PM Modi added, "the sin committed by the opposition" will bring them punishment from the people.
On April 17, Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha voted against the Constitution Amendment Bill related to women's reservation.
Expressing the INDI bloc's stand very clearly, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the bill that was introduced and the three-day discussion were not about women's reservation, it was solely about delimitation.
She added, "Our stand is very clear. The entire INDIA alliance has made its stand very clear, and this vote has made it even clearer that, in our understanding, this bill that was introduced and the three-day discussion was not about women's reservation; it was solely about delimitation, and we have all expressed our views on this very clearly."
The Lok Sabha took up the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill together for passing. In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill following the debate on the three bills, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against.