Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the government, moments after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 failed in Lok Sabha, describing the bill’s defeat as a successful defense against an “unconstitutional bluff”.
Taking to social media and addressing journalists soon after the Assembly session ended, Gandhi claimed that the legislation was never intended to immediately empower women, but was instead a calculated move to move forward with the controversial demarcation bill.
He praised the unity of the India bloc in defeating the bill in Lok Sabha. On the 10th, Gandhi wrote: “The Amendment Bill has fallen. They have used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution. India has witnessed it. India has stopped it. Hail to the Constitution.”
The opposition’s main complaint centered on the government’s decision to link the implementation of the 33% women’s quota to the 2029 general elections and the completion of a new census and demarcation process.
The defeat represents a rare moment of effective parliamentary resistance for the India Bloc, which managed to deprive the government of the required two-thirds majority. The final tally – 298 supporters and 230 opponents – was far below the threshold required for a constitutional amendment.
By defeating Amendment 131, the opposition effectively halted the related demarcation bill, which they feared would punish Southern states for their successful population control measures.
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The government, represented by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, expressed disappointment over the result, accusing the opposition of being “anti-women”.
The Constitution Amendment Bill to implement women’s reservation in the 2029 general elections was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with the opposition parties voting against it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the results of the division. He said: “The Constitution Amendment Bill (Amendment 131) was not passed because it did not achieve a two-thirds majority during voting in the House of Representatives.”
In response, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, speaking to reporters, said: “It was a very convincing victory. The BJP lost by 52 votes short of the two-thirds it needed to pass the constitutional amendment. We feel a certain sense of triumph. This is not a vote against women’s reservation, but against demarcation and the damage that demarcation and dramatic expansion of Parliament would do to our democracy. So we voted to save our democracy. We have said that even in our speeches.” “We will vote for women’s reservation if you separate it from border demarcation. We voted against their refusal to separate this.”
“This was not a reservation bill for women, it was a delimitation bill. We had constantly asked the government to reserve 181 seats out of 543 for women. But the government’s intention was not clear. It was basically a delimitation bill,” Congress MP Manish Tiwari said.
Along with them, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar said: “It is a victory for south India. It is a victory for the opposition parties. It is a victory for the women of the country.”
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Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that we fully support the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was passed in 2023. The bill that was rejected is the Delimitation Bill; Our support for women’s reservation is still there.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said: “I think if Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government had brought a simple women’s reservation bill, without any requirements for demarcation or census, women reservation would have come forward significantly. The women’s reservation bill that was passed in 2023, which the government implemented last night, will be implemented further. But the political demarcation they wanted to do in the name of women reservation in 2026 has been unfolding across the country. Somewhere, the BJP just wants to practice Politics, the country has understood this today.
