‘BJP is the Tukde Tukde Gang’: Mamata Banerjee Says Delimitation Bill Was a Plot to Divide India

Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday tore into the BJP, branding the party the “tukde tukde gang” and accusing it of using the defeated delimitation legislation as a covert weapon to break up the country and weaken powerful opposition-ruled states. In a sharp critique, hours after the Lok Sabha’s historic rejection of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, Banerjee declared: “We have defeated BJP. If BJP targets Bengal then Bengal will shake up Delhi, like we shook them yesterday. We defeated them in the parliament. They wanted to destroy the constitution. The reverse counting for BJP has started. That was not about women reservation bill. That was in fact the bill to divide India. Through delimitation their objective was to break states like Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and others. They kept women reservation at the front but in garb of that their motive was devious. They should not teach us empowerment of women. We have given 50 percent reservation to women in panchayat. We have given 46% reservation to women in Rajya Sabha. We are the only party in Lok Sabha with 37 percent women representation. They in reality wanted to divide the country through delimitation. They are the tukde tukde gang.”

The fiery reaction came barely 24 hours after the Modi government suffered a stunning parliamentary setback on Friday, April 17, when the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. With 528 members present and voting, the bill managed only 298 votes in favour against 230 opposed - falling short by 54 votes of the 352 required. The defeat forced the immediate withdrawal of the two accompanying legislations - the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 - effectively burying the government’s ambitious plan to expand the Lok Sabha from 543 to nearly 850 seats and redraw constituencies on the basis of the next census data.

The package was widely perceived as an attempt to operationalise the long-pending women’s reservation law without waiting for the delayed decadal census. Southern and eastern states had strongly opposed the move, fearing a massive shift of political power towards northern states with faster population growth. The unified opposition — cutting across Congress, TMC, SP, DMK and smaller parties - blocked the bills, describing them as an assault on federalism and a thinly disguised attempt to alter the electoral map in favour of the ruling party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a personal appeal for support ahead of the vote. In a tweet posted on Thursday evening, he wrote: “Delimitation is not about north vs south or east vs west. It is about ensuring every Indian voice is heard equally. We will not penalise states that did excellent work in population control. Let us rise above politics for a stronger, more representative democracy.”

PM Modi is expected to speak on Saturday evening at 8.30pm as the address to the nation. While the subject is still unknown but sources say he may speak on the women reservation bill. “Heard that Modi ji will speak tonight. He will give ‘bhasan’ again….his lectures will not feed people. The way they wrested the powers of an elected government. I promise I will take revenge ion this. We have defeated them inside the parliament yesterday and Bengal will take everyone along to defeat them at the centre soon. As it is they are a minority government, surviving on the support of two alliances. They are already blinking now, any day they may snap off” Mamata Banerjee added. 

Mamata Banerjee’s “tukde tukde gang” barb, echoing a phrase once used by the BJP against its critics, has already gone viral on social media and is being seen as a counter offensive that flips the political narrative. Senior TMC leaders said the party would continue to highlight what they call the BJP’s “hidden agenda” of weakening states like Bengal through delimitation. For now, the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act remains on paper only, its implementation once again tied to the politically explosive question of when and how India’s electoral boundaries will be redrawn. The Modi government is yet to signal its next move, but sources say it is weighing options ranging from fresh negotiations to waiting for a more favourable political climate.