Setback for PM Modi as women’s reservation-linked bill falls short

An Indian government bill to expand assemblies, which would have advanced plans to reserve one-third of seats for women, failed to pass in parliament on Friday after falling short of the required majority, marking a rare defeat for Narendra Modi.

The proposed constitutional amendment was defeated in the Lok Sabha after 298 lawmakers voted in favour and 230 against, well below the two-thirds majority required for passage.

The bill aimed to increase the number of lawmakers in the lower house by around 55 per cent to 850 by the next parliamentary elections due in 2029, alongside a similar expansion of state assemblies. The government argued that the changes were necessary to reflect population shifts since seats were last fixed following the 1971 census.

The legislation was linked to the implementation of one-third reservation for women, which had already been agreed under a separate law passed in 2023. However, that provision was tied to the next census, which is still underway and would have pushed implementation beyond the 2029 election.

Opposition parties said they supported women’s reservation in principle but opposed linking it to a large-scale redrawing of constituency boundaries, alleging it could be used to influence electoral outcomes.

“The amendment bill has fallen. They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X shortly after the vote.

The government rejected the criticism and maintained that it remained committed to women’s representation.

“The women of this country will not forgive you,” Home Minister Amit Shah said in parliament before the bill was put to vote.

India currently does not reserve seats for women in parliament. Women constitute about 14 per cent of lawmakers in the Lok Sabha and 17 per cent in the Rajya Sabha, while around 10 per cent of legislators in state assemblies are women.

A day after the bill’s defeat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the measure was a “noble effort” that had been “derailed” by opposition parties, specifically naming the Congress and the DMK.

“Why does it trouble DMK, Congress to see ordinary women rise,” he said.

He said he had personally appealed to opposition parties to support the bill and had offered to give them credit, adding, “I only wanted sisters from ordinary families to come to parliament, assemblies in good numbers.”

“But unfortunately, this noble effort got derailed. DMK, Congress and their allies made it a target of hatred and petty politics,” he said.

Addressing a poll rally, he said that if the bill had passed, more women from ordinary families, including those in Tamil Nadu, would have entered parliament and state assemblies. Referring to seat allocation based on the 2011 census, he said the state stood to gain additional representation.

“Had this bill been passed, many Tamil women from ordinary families would have become MPs and MLAs. Based on 2011 census, Tamil Nadu was going to get so many more seats in Lok Sabha, but clearly DMK didn’t want this to happen,” he said.

“Why does it trouble DMK, Congress to see ordinary women rise? These one family parties want power to be confined in their own family,” he said.

He appealed to women in Tamil Nadu to question the DMK over its opposition to the bill and urged them to respond on polling day.

“On April 23 give them a clear, powerful message,” he said.

The government said it would continue to push for women’s reservation despite the bill’s defeat.

(With inputs from agencies)