New Delhi [India], April 18 : Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday demanded that the Centre immediately reintroduce the 2023 Women's Reservation Bill, calling the failure of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha "Black Day" for the NDA government.
Addressing a press conference here, Priyanka Gandhi urged the government to act without delay. "If you want to do something concrete, bring back the bill that was passed unanimously in 2023, supported by all parties. If you need to make a few small amendments to it so it can be implemented now, do it and implement it now. Give women their rights, right now," she said.
Sharpening her attack, she added, "It's a Black Day for them (centre) because they've felt a shock for the first time, which they deserved. The problems of women today are growing exponentially. Women aren't fools. They see everything. That PR and media hype won't work anymore."
Priyanka Gandhi reiterated that the opposition's stand was not against women's reservation but against linking it to delimitation and census processes. "Don't try to mislead them by twisting it around and attaching it to other things. Do it now. We're all ready," she asserted.
"What happened yesterday was a huge victory for democracy. The government's conspiracy to alter the federal structure and weaken democracy was defeated and stopped. This was a victory for the Constitution, a victory for the country, and a victory for the unity of the opposition," she said.
"The way they have brought this bill, the things they have attached to it, the delimitation, the 2011 census, it's very clear that they knew this bill was not going to be able to be passed. They just wanted the political credit," she added.
Priyanka Gandhi further accused the Centre of using women to permanently stay in power stating, "I think it's a conspiracy that somehow they need to stay in power... So, to achieve this, they're planning how to permanently stay in power using women... They thought that if it was passed, they'd win. If it's not passed, they'll become the saviours of women by branding other parties as anti-women... We know that becoming a savior for women isn't easy..."
The Wayanad MP accused the centre of not standing by its word and said that women cannot trust the government.
"We are saying very clearly, and we will say this from every platform, we will say this in every state, not just the Congress party, but every party of the INDIA alliance will say it very clearly: bring that 2023 legislation which was passed, make whatever change you want to get it done by 2029, we will fully support it. Things have changed for this government. It's very visible from their actions. Firstly, they are under a lot of international pressure. A lot of the actions they are taking, I don't think, as my brother has said multiple times, any Indian Prime Minister would have accepted the terms of the deal that they have done with the US, unless there was massive pressure. The public continues to suffer with multiple problems; the price of gas, of fruit, vegetables, everything has gone up. The burden of this is on the shoulders of women... They can take their Mahila Morcha in front of whoever's house they want. They can make as much tamasha as they want. This country has now awakened to the fact that they do not stand by its words. They cannot be trusted. And certainly, women cannot trust them..."
The remarks come a day after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority to pass the amendment bill. In the Lok Sabha voting, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre would not proceed with the remaining interlinked legislations.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of blocking women's reservation, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support the quota but oppose its linkage with delimitation.