‘Inappropriate, Distress Address’: Congress Slams PM Modi’s National Broadcast on Delimitation Setback

The Indian National Congress on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing his recent address to the nation as “partisan” and lacking the dignity expected of such a platform.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said a Prime Minister’s national address should remain non-political and focused on strengthening public confidence, rather than targeting opposition parties. He criticised the speech as a “polemical” intervention, arguing it would have been more appropriate in a press conference setting.

“A sitting Prime Minister’s address to the nation has a sanctity to it. It is meant to be a non-partisan address intended to build national resolve and confidence. This pathetic partisan and polemical attack – a Distress Address rather than a National Address - would have been more appropriate in a Press Conference. But as unhinged as he is by the extraordinary legislative humiliation he suffered in the Lok Sabha last night, the non-grihasthi Prime Minister is still too much of a coward to face the media,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on his X handle. 

Ramesh further alleged that the Prime Minister’s remarks came in the backdrop of what he termed a “legislative setback” in the Lok Sabha, and accused him of avoiding direct engagement with the media. “What the PM attempted in the Lok Sabha yesterday – a weakening of our democracy and our federalism – was exactly the sort of attack on the Constitution that was anticipated when the PM called for ‘400 paar’ in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. His attempts to invoke the legacy of the Constitution-makers only induces a revulsion at his dishonesty,” he wrote. 
Escalating the criticism, the Congress leader questioned the government’s intent on the women’s reservation issue. He referred to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, noting that although it was passed earlier, its notification came after a significant delay. He accused the government of attempting to link women’s reservation with delimitation in a manner that could undermine democratic and federal principles.

“The Prime Minister has apologized for failing to see his Constitution amendment bill through the Lok Sabha. What he should have apologized for is his shameless, deceitful attempts to push through a devious delimitation proposal in the name of women. His niyat is anything but saaf. It is poisonous. If one were to investigate his niyat, one only has to ask why the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 passed unanimously way back in Sept 2023 was notified only late night on April 16 2026 after a delay of 30 months. His talking of mahila samman is sheer hypocrisy give the way he has conducted himself throughout his life,” Ramesh noted. 

Ramesh also pushed back against the Prime Minister’s claims regarding key policy initiatives, asserting that several flagship reforms—such as Aadhaar, GST, and financial inclusion measures—had their origins in earlier Congress-led governments. “Among the PM’s more laughable claims was that the Indian National Congress opposed the Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile and the GST. Both are entirely Congress creations. Indira Gandhi nationalized the banking industry and laid the foundation for universal bank access. Aadhar was launched by Dr Manmohan Singh on September 29, 2010 from Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. India’s digital revolution was conceptualized and enabled by Rajiv Gandhi’s vision and mission,” he mentioned.

Taking aim at the broader political messaging, he said invoking the legacy of the Constitution’s framers while pursuing contentious legislative changes raised serious concerns. He added that there was no need to delay women’s reservation, challenging the government to implement it within the existing framework of the Lok Sabha. “The Indian National Congress challenges the Prime Minister to move a bill in the Parliament tomorrow to implement women’s reservation within the existing set up of the Lok Sabha,” he concluded.