Upping the ante against government after the women's quota bill failed to clear the Lok Sabha test, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Saturday that the constitutional amendment bill was a 'conspiracy' by the Centre to rule forever and weaken the democracy in the country. Priyanka alleged the Centre is under tremendous international pressure which has become 'very obvious' and is quite visible to the public.
Speaking at a press briefing at Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Priyanka said the government brought this bill to bring delimitation, which the opposition has alleged to weaken the southern and northeastern states. However, the bill's failure in Lok Sabha is a 'victory of democracy' and shows the unity of the opposition, the senior Congress leader said.
"First of all, I would like to say that what happened yesterday was a very significant victory for democracy (referring to defeat of Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha). The government's attempt to alter the federal structure and weaken democracy, was defeated and stopped. It was a victory for the Constitution, the country, and unity of the opposition. This was clearly visible on the faces of leaders from the ruling side," she said.
Priyanka, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad, said all opposition parties are in favour of women's reservation if the government decides to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023. She also warned the government over delimitation and said it would have to face consequences if the representation of southern and northeastern states in the Lok Sabha are reduced.
The people are suffering and they have seen through the government's actions, and won't fall for its narratives, the senior Congress leader, while also lauding the entire opposition for showing the unity in the Parliament on Friday. She, however, warned that the government may try to mislead the people, particularly the women, over the constitutional amendment bill's failure in the Lok Sabha.
"I was listening to the speeches of the Home Minister and the Prime Minister. On several occasions, both said that if you do not agree with this, you will never sit here, never come to power, and never win. That made their intent very clear. The session was called suddenly, with the draft shared just a day before, leaving no time to review. It seemed like a plan to stay in power," she said.
"Through delimitation based on the 2011 Census and using women's reservation, they aimed to redraw constituencies to their advantage. If it passed, they would proceed; if not, they would label others as anti-women and project themselves as champions. But becoming a true champion of women is not easy, it requires action. There is a history to it, and the Congress party has that history," Priyanka added.
The government had called a three-day special sitting of the Parliament from April 16 to 18. On day one of the session, three bills -- Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 -- were tabled which were linked to implementation of women's reservation. On Friday, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed to clear the Lok Sabha. The bill required a two-third majority of 352 votes, but it received 298 votes in its favour, while 230 MPs voted against it.
