'It was a conspiracy to use women's reservation to remain in power permanently,' says Priyanka Gandhi

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi said that this bill was not brought for women's reservation but for delimitation.

She stated that the Women's Bill passed in 2023 should be implemented immediately.

While addressing the media in Delhi, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The conspiracy of the central NDA government to weaken democracy and change the federal structure has failed in Parliament."

She added that what happened on Friday in the Lok Sabha was a major victory for democracy and opposition unity.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad, Kerala, has levelled serious allegations against the Modi government.

She said, "The entire conspiracy of the BJP was to use women's reservation to remain in power permanently. We cannot trust the BJP on the issue of delimitation because they will do it only for their own benefit."

Questioning the government's intention, Priyanka Gandhi asked why the draft of the bill was made public just one day earlier.

She alleged that the BJP wants to remain in power in the name of women. Women are not fools. Priyanka Gandhi said that they want to become the messiahs of women. What happened in Manipur, what happened in Unnao, what happened with the women wrestlers — no one went to ask those women. Becoming a messiah of women is not so easy.

Priyanka Gandhi said that it is not possible for the opposition to support the delimitation plan under the guise of women's reservation; if the government is really serious, then it should implement the 2023 law.

The constitutional amendment bill related to providing 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, to be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, could not be passed in the lower house of Parliament on Friday.

During the division of votes on the ‘Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026’ in the House, 298 votes were cast in favour and 230 against.

A two-thirds majority is required to pass any constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha.The government had also listed the ‘Delimitation Bill, 2026’ and the ‘Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ along with this bill for discussion and passage in the House, but they could not be taken forward either.