YSRCP chief Jagan hits out at Opposition over Women’s Bill defeat

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at amending the Women’s Reservation Act, failed to secure a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy criticised parties opposing the bill, warning of adverse consequences for southern states if delimitation is based on the 2026 census.

Amaravati: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the parties which opposed the bill to amend the Women’s Reservation Act in Parliament should question themselves on what they have achieved.​

After the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, failed to get a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, Jagan Mohan Reddy took to ‘X’ to pose a question to the parties that voted against it.​

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He voiced apprehension that if delimitation is undertaken based on the 2026 census, the situation would be worse for the South.​

He posted, “Opposing parties should seriously question themselves; what have they achieved? While the reality is that the numbers would come down for the South, the women’s reservation bill has been postponed! Justice is rendered neither to the South nor to the women! If the 2026 census were to come, the situation would be worse off for the South, further penalised for being disciplined in the matters of family planning.”​

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y. S. Sharmila Reddy said in her reaction that the BJP’s deceptive ploy in the name of women’s reservation has failed. ​

She alleged that the conspiracy to push through illegitimate laws by using women’s issues as a smokescreen has not succeeded.​

She posted, “The BJP’s machinations, aimed at undermining the spirit of federalism under the guise of empowerment, have proven futile. The INDIA alliance’s righteous battle has triumphed over the NDA’s unrighteousness. Democracy has prevailed. This is a victory for the people of India. This truly marks the final curtain call for the BJP’s politically malicious agenda. It serves as a resounding slap in the face to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who engaged in petty politics in the name of women, and to the BJP, with its religious fanaticism.”​

The Congress leader clarified that what collapsed was merely the “ill-conceived and directionless” Delimitation Bill, not the Women’s Reservation Bill itself. ​

She said the Opposition never opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill. “What was actually introduced under the banner of ‘Nari’ (Women) was nothing but a Delimitation Bill. What was defeated today was specifically the Bill to redraw constituencies. What the Opposition successfully thwarted was solely the conspiracy to alter the Constitution,” she said.​

She added, “The Women’s Reservation Bill was, in fact, approved back in 2023. Instead of continuing to sling mud at the Opposition, the BJP must now, at the very least, immediately implement the Women’s Reservation Bill of 2023. The BJP must prove, once and for all, that it possesses genuine sincerity regarding women’s issues. The 33 per cent reservation must be implemented immediately across all 543 parliamentary seats.”​