When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha on Thursday regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill, the senior BJP leader also took a dig at Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee.
In the strike, which also comes in the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections, Prime Minister Modi asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to allow Banerjee to speak as he is “not allowed to do so” in West Bengal.
While Modi was addressing the House, the TMC member was heard raising his objection to the Prime Minister. In a clip of the speech, which is now doing the rounds on social media, Birla is seen asking Banerjee to take his seat.
However, while watching this, PM Modi told Birla: “Arre bhai, inko bolne dijiye, waha par bechare ke muh pe taala laga hua hai. Waha Bengal me koi bolne nahi deta isko.” (Let him speak. He has a lock on his mouth because they don’t let him speak in Bengal)
The Prime Minister’s remarks reflect the dispute between Banerjee and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In 2025, Banerjee was involved in a very public altercation with fellow TMC MP Mahua Moitra, in which TMC chief Mamata Banerjee expressed his “displeasure” and asked for the infighting to stop.
The spat, which included personal attacks between two TMC MPs, also led to Kalyan Banerjee resigning from his post as party president in the Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister pushes for Women Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha
On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi appealed to the opposition to allow the Women’s Reservation Bill to be passed and implemented. The bill, which was initially passed unanimously in 2023, has been pushed back with an amendment allowing 33 per cent of Lok Sabha seats to be reserved for women based on the 2011 census.
The bill also calls for increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 815, of which around 272 seats will be reserved for women.
Speaking in the House, Prime Minister Modi also warned the opposition, saying that if anyone objects to the reservation, “the women of India will not forgive him”.
