Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “defaming” and “attacking his opponents” during his address to the nation on Saturday. the The Prime Minister’s speech came after the rejection of the draft law to amend the constitution presented by the government in Parliament.
“Desperate and frustrated Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] With nothing meaningful to offer over the past 12 years, he has turned an official address to the nation into a political speech filled with smears and outright lies.
He also alleged misuse of official agencies before The upcoming House of Representatives elections in two large states. “The model code of conduct already exists and it was very clear how Prime Minister Modi misused formal mechanisms to attack his opponents. This is a farce of democracy and the Constitution of India,” Karg added.
What the bill sought to achieve
the The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 failed to pass the vote in the Lok Sabha after failing to get the required two-thirds majority. The legislation proposed expanding the House of Representatives from 543 to 850 seats to facilitate 33% reservation for women by the 2029 elections. While the government received 298 votes in favour, the united opposition of 230 MPs voted no.
The draft law has been linked to the introduction of a file The Women’s Reservation Act, passed in 2023, requires demarcation and census-related processes before implementation.
Modi in his country A 30-minute speech on Saturday accused the opposition of obstructing women’s reform for political reasons. He said he was “extremely sad” that some opposition leaders celebrated after the failure of the bill, describing it as an affront to women’s dignity. He claimed that the opposition “takes women for granted,” adding that they have committed “feticide.”
Modi mentioned Congress 59 times
Kharge noted what he described as a disproportionate focus on attacking Congress. “Modi mentioned Congress 59 times, and mentioned women only a few times. This tells the country everything about his priorities,” he wrote.
“Women are not a priority for the BJP. The Congress is, because it is on the right side of history,” Karg alleged.
The Congress president claimed that his party consistently supports reservation for women. He said the Congress had ensured passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 and had also supported the 2023 legislation, which he said was still in force.
Criticizing the delay in implementation, he said: “The fact that the BJP took 3 years to notify its bill, shows its commitment to India’s Nari Shakti!”
“Modi must stop lying to the nation,” he said.
3 demands of the Prime Minister
Khargj also put forward three demands for the Prime Minister.
“He should implement 33% reservation for women in the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats under the 2023 Act. Don’t deprive women of their due representation now,” Karji said.
He added: “Stop confusing the demarcation bills… with the women’s reservation bill… that was not the case. This was just a demarcation bill.”
His last request from Modi was to “apologize to 140 crore Indians”.
“The anti-women Bharatiya Janata Party; the wretched rapists
Karg alleged that the BJP was “anti-women in action and attitude”, citing incidents like Hathras, Unnao and the treatment of women wrestlers in Haryana.
Karg claimed that the party protected individuals accused of sexual crimes, noted the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, and accused its leaders of openly supporting such individuals.
“They surrounded criminals and rapists,” Kharge charged.
He added: “After 12 and a half years in power… the prime minister has nothing to offer the nation except a political speech.”
Other opposition parties also rejected the Prime Minister’s claims and accused him of misleading the public. Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien said the “worst form of insulting women” was using them as a “trick” to push the demarcation bill.
