'Didn't get 66%, have blessings of 100% women's power': PM Modi after bill setback

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday blasted the Opposition parties after the delimitation and women's reservation bills were defeated in Parliament and accuded the opposition parties of feticide. Addressing the nation, PM Modi said that the Congress and its allies have murdered the fetus of right in front of the entire country in the House. He also said that while the bills were defeated due to lack of 66% votes, 100% women of the country supports the government. "We didn't get the necessary 66 percent votes to pass the bill... but I know that the blessings of 100 percent of the country's women's power are with us. I assure every woman in the country that we will remove every obstacle in the path of women's reservation," he said.

"Parties like Congress, DMK, TMC, and SP are the culprits of this feticide. They are criminals against the country's Constitution, criminals against the country's feminine power. The Congress hates the issue of women's reservation itself," said PM Modi.

Prime Minister Modi said the parties opposing women's reservation will not be able to stop the country's women's power from increasing their participation in Parliament and state assemblies. "Congress has always sat there blocking every reform. Delaying, derailing, stalling and that has been Congress's principle, its work culture," he said.

"This is not just a fight over one law, but a larger battle against Congress’s anti reform mindset, driven by negativity. I have no doubt that the daughters of this country will give a strong answer to this thinking. I said in Parliament, give half the population their rightful share, and I would credit the opposition for it. Yet those who view women through a regressive lens remained stuck in their position and refused to move beyond it," said Modi.

Addressing the nation a day after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill on women’s reservation failed to get clearance in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi said the issue is not limited to a single piece of legislation but part of a broader political contest against what he described as dynastic parties that are anti-reform, adding that the struggle would continue.

“The Bill was not an attempt to take credit but to give rights to half of the population,” the Prime Minister said, adding that efforts to provide reservation to women have been pending for decades due to what he termed as selfish politics by parties such as the Congress.

Launching a broadside on the Congress, DMK, Trinamool Congress, and Samajwadi Party, he said these dynastic parties do not want women who are performing well in panchayats and local bodies to compete with their leaders in Parliament and state Assemblies.

“The dynastic parties are afraid that if seats for women are increased, then the stature of common women would grow and they would overshadow these parties’ leaders,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the Congress has consistently opposed reforms aimed at building a ‘Viksit Bharat’. He cited examples such as the GST, CAA, UCC, abrogation of Article 370, Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, digital payments, ‘One Nation, One Poll’, SIR, measures against LWE, and steps to counter illegal immigration as reforms opposed by the Congress.

Calling the Congress a predatory party pursuing selfish politics, he said its stand on the women’s quota Bill has adversely impacted its regional allies, including the DMK, Trinamool Congress, and Samajwadi Party.

“By supporting the women’s quota, the DMK and the Trinanool Congress had an opportunity to send more MPs from their states to Parliament. But they squandered the opportunity,” he said.

He added that the Samajwadi Party also had a chance to address its perceived anti-women image by supporting the Bill but failed to do so.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, failed to secure the constitutionally required two-thirds majority. It garnered 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the 352 votes required for passage.