Congress mentioned 59 times, women barely: Kharge slams PM's address to nation

A political firestorm erupts after PM Narendra Modi's address following the women's reservation bill defeat, with Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari accusing him of partisan attacks, misinformation and targeting Opposition parties.

In Short

• PM Modi's address after women's bill defeat sparks controversy
• Opposition accuses PM of turning national broadcast political
• Kharge labels PM's speech as a political attack on Congress

A major political confrontation erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation following the defeat of the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari launching a coordinated and detailed attack on his speech.

The Opposition accused the Prime Minister of turning an official national address into a partisan political broadcast, following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures.

KHARGE: ‘CONGRESS MENTIONED 59 TIMES, WOMEN BARELY’

Mallikarjun Kharge strongly criticised the Prime Minister’s address, saying it reflected a clear shift in priorities away from women’s empowerment.

He said, “Modi ji mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities. Women are not the BJP’s priority. Congress is.”

Kharge also accused the Prime Minister of misusing the national platform, saying, “A desperate and frustrated PM Narendra Modi with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years turned an official address to the nation into a political speech full of mudslinging and outright lies.”

He further said the address focused more on attacking Opposition parties than on explaining the failure of the women’s reservation bill.

KHARGE: WOMEN WATCHED PARLIAMENT, BUT RIGHTS WERE TAKEN AWAY

Kharge also referred to the parliamentary proceedings, saying millions of women were watching the debate closely.

He said he was deeply saddened that when the proposal was defeated, “family-led parties like Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party were accused of celebrating while women’s rights were taken away.”

He added, “What happened was not just desk thumping, it was an attack on women’s self-respect and self-esteem.”

Kharge further said, “Women may forget many things, but they never forget their insult.”

JAIRAM RAMESH: ‘DISTRESS ADDRESS, NOT NATIONAL ADDRESS’

Jairam Ramesh also launched a strong counterattack, calling the Prime Minister’s broadcast a “Congress-abuse address”.

He said, “A sitting Prime Minister’s address to the nation has a sanctity to it. It is meant to be a non-partisan address intended to build national resolve and confidence. This was a distress address rather than a national address.”

Ramesh accused the Prime Minister of using the broadcast to target Opposition parties after what he described as a “legislative humiliation in the Lok Sabha”.

He also challenged the government on implementation, saying there is no need for delay in granting women their due representation.

RAMESH: BILL, DELIMITATION AND POLITICAL CHARGES

Ramesh further said the government was attempting to link women’s reservation with delimitation proposals and called it misleading.

He said Congress had supported women’s reservation consistently, including passage in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 and support for the 2023 legislation.

He challenged the Prime Minister to bring a bill immediately to implement women’s reservation within the existing Lok Sabha structure.

MANISH TEWARI FLAGS MISUSE OF NATIONAL BROADCAST

Congress leader Manish Tewari also criticised the Prime Minister’s address, saying it violated the spirit of a national communication.

He said it was “unfortunate and regrettable” that the national platform was used to attack Opposition parties over the women’s reservation bill defeat.

Tewari said what was defeated in the Lok Sabha was not a women empowerment initiative alone, but what he described as a broader political exercise linked to delimitation.

WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL DEFEAT TRIGGERS POLITICAL WAR

The confrontation follows the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, which required a two-thirds majority but failed to pass despite significant debate.

While the government maintained the bill was a historic step for women’s empowerment, Congress leaders argued it was politically misrepresented and used to target Opposition parties.

With Kharge, Ramesh and Tewari leading the charge, the women’s reservation issue has now escalated into a full-scale political battle between the BJP and Congress.

- Ends