India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused opposition parties of failing Indian women after a key bill to reserve one-third of parliamentary seats for women was defeated following a heated debate.
The constitutional amendment fell short of the required two-thirds majority, with 298 MPs voting in favour and 230 against, marking a rare legislative setback for the government.
Modi criticised the outcome, saying, “Every citizen of India is watching how dreams of our women have been crushed,” and added that the opposition’s actions had stalled efforts to empower women politically.
The bill aimed to fast-track greater female representation in India’s lower house, where women currently make up only about 14 per cent of MPs. However, opposition parties strongly opposed the government’s decision to link the proposal to a broader and controversial “delimitation” process — a plan to redraw electoral boundaries based on population data.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge maintained that his party supports women’s reservation but opposed linking it to electoral changes, urging the government to introduce the quota independently.
Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah defended the proposal, stating that delimitation was necessary to ensure equal representation, adding that “every voter should have equal value”.
The bill’s failure means any acceleration of women’s representation reforms remains uncertain, with the previously passed 2023 legislation still not expected to take effect until after the next census and elections, likely beyond 2029.
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