Congress MP Manish Tewari criticized the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, stating that the Opposition thwarted its passage in the Lok Sabha due to concerns about potential political and demographic changes disguised under the women’s reservation issue. Tewari expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks on the Women’s Reservation Bill, highlighting delays in its official notification despite being passed in 2023.
Tewari emphasized that the proposed Bill extended beyond women’s reservation, raising apprehensions about its implications on political and geographical restructuring through delimitation. He underscored the Opposition’s collective resistance, fearing a significant alteration in India’s political and electoral landscape.
The Congress MP reiterated the Opposition’s willingness to support women’s reservation within the current parliamentary seat framework. He urged immediate implementation of the Act, emphasizing the need for reservation based on existing parliamentary seats rather than outdated census data. Tewari reaffirmed the Opposition’s stance, expressing readiness to back the initiative if genuinely focused on women’s empowerment.
Prime Minister Modi, in response, accused the Opposition, including Congress and its allies, of obstructing the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan’ Amendment aimed at enhancing women’s political participation. He criticized the Opposition for impeding the long-pending representation for women and accused them of misleading arguments and diversionary tactics to stall the Bill.
