The BJP on Friday launched a sharp attack on the opposition after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 failed in the Lok Sabha, accusing the rival parties of “gross betrayal” of women and obstructing historic reform.
The bill, which aims to reserve 33% reservation for women in the 2029 general elections, did not receive the required two-thirds majority, leading to a political rift between the ruling party and the India Bloc.
The amendment received 298 votes in favor and 230 votes against, which exceeds the threshold necessary for its passage. Announcing the result, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said: “The Constitution Amendment Bill (131st Amendment) was not passed as it did not achieve two-thirds majority during voting in the House.”
The defeat, in particular, halts progress on the associated border demarcation process, which has been a major flashpoint between the government and the opposition.
“Insulting 700 million women,” says Shah.
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah, who led the charge, accused the opposition of celebrating at the expense of women’s rights.
“How can anyone celebrate victory after deceiving half the country’s population – 700 million women – and losing their trust?” He said on Channel X, adding: “This celebration by the opposition is an insult to every woman who has been waiting for her rights for decades.”
He warned, “The women of the country see who is the obstacle in their way… When you go to the elections, the mother force will demand that you take account, and then you will find no way to escape.”
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said the vote exposed the opposition, saying: “Today the entire country saw who supports women’s reservation and who opposes women’s reservation. The country lost a historic opportunity because of the Congress party,” news agency ANI reported.
He added: “People will teach the Congress Party a lesson.”
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya described the result as a “very sad day for the country’s democracy”, saying the Congress party had “once again betrayed the women of the country”, ANI quoted him as saying.
Echoing this, Jagdambika Pal said, “Today the face of opposition has been revealed… Modi government is giving reservation to women in 2029 instead of 2034, so what is the point of protest? They never wanted to give reservation to women. This is an insult to half the country’s population,” he told ANI.
BJP president Nitin Nabin also intensified the attack, saying that the day “would have been written in golden letters” had it not been for what he called “gross betrayal” by the Congress and its allies.
The opposition describes it as a constitutional victory
However, the Opposition defended its position, with Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi describing the defeat of the bill as a safeguard against what he described as a flawed legislative move.
“The amendment bill has fallen. They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to violate the Constitution. India has seen it. India has stopped it. Hail to the Constitution,” he wrote on X.
In a separate post, Gandhi said: “This is not a women’s reservation bill – it has nothing to do with women. This bill is anti-OBC, this bill is anti-ST and anti-ST, this bill is anti-national – anti-South, North-East, North-West and small states.”
He added: “We will not allow anyone’s rights to be taken away, and we will not allow the country to be divided.”
Opposition parties objected to linking the implementation of the quota to conducting a population census and demarcating borders in the future, arguing that it delays the actual benefits.
The result represents a rare coordinated retreat by the India Bloc, which deprived the government of the numbers needed for a constitutional amendment, and marks the first time in 12 years that a constitutional amendment has failed for a Modi government.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy described it as a “red letter day” and credited Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for uniting the opposition parties to avoid what he called a “national disaster”.
