“Failed to correct past mistakes…”: PM Modi Attacks Opposition After Lok Sabha Bill Defeat

A day after the Centre’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp attack on Opposition parties, accusing them of derailing what he described as an effort to advance women’s representation and ensure equitable distribution of power.

In a televised address to the nation, the Prime Minister alleged that the Opposition had deliberately blocked the legislation, using the term “bhrun hatya” (foeticide) to describe their actions. “This was an attempt to give more voice to every state in the Parliament. Whether states are small or big, whether they have more population or less, this was an attempt to ensure equal distribution of power,” he said. “But the Congress and its allies committed foeticide of this honest attempt in front of the whole country. They have committed foeticide.”

PM Modi specifically named parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and DMK, holding them responsible for the bill’s defeat.
“They are the culprits of the Constitution and the Nari Shakti. Congress hates the subject of women reservation,” he said, adding that women voters would respond to the Opposition’s stance in due course.

He further accused the Congress of consistently obstructing reforms.
“Congress has always spread falsehoods about necessary reforms, delayed every reform while it ruled,” he said.

Despite the legislative setback, the Prime Minister maintained that the government’s efforts would continue. Acknowledging that the ruling alliance fell short of the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, he said the outcome did not signal defeat.
“Yesterday, we didn’t have the strength, but that doesn’t mean we lost. Our struggle won’t stop here. We have to fulfil this vow,” he said.

The proposed legislation sought to operationalise the women’s reservation framework by linking it to a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. It also proposed increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, along with a corresponding expansion in state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33% reservation for women.

However, the bill failed to secure the numbers required for passage. Of the 528 members who participated in the vote, 298 supported the legislation while 230 opposed it, falling short of the 352 votes needed for a two-thirds majority.

The defeat marks a rare instance of a government bill being blocked in the Lok Sabha, and has intensified the political confrontation between the ruling alliance and the Opposition over both women’s reservation and the conditions attached to its implementation.