Congress ‘anti-reform, selfish’, pursues negative politics: PM Modi

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an acerbic attack on the Congress, accusing it of spreading misinformation on delimitation, adopting an “anti-reform” approach, and pursuing “negative politics” that harms national interest.

He said the Congress is following a policy of divide and rule, which he alleged it inherited from the British, and is spreading misinformation that delimitation would adversely impact certain states.

Addressing the nation a day after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill on women’s reservation failed to get clearance in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi said the issue is not limited to a single piece of legislation but part of a broader political contest against what he described as dynastic parties that are anti-reform, adding that the struggle would continue.

“The Bill was not an attempt to take credit but to give rights to half of the population,” the Prime Minister said, adding that efforts to provide reservation to women have been pending for decades due to what he termed as selfish politics by parties such as the Congress.

“I am as sad as all women who are unhappy over the non-passage of the Bill. We may not have been able to garner 66 per cent vote in its support, but 100 per cent of Nari Shakti is with us,” he said, vowing to overcome all hurdles in implementing women’s reservation.

Launching a broadside on the Congress, DMK, Trinamool Congress, and Samajwadi Party, he said these dynastic parties do not want women who are performing well in panchayats and local bodies to compete with their leaders in Parliament and state Assemblies.

“The dynastic parties are afraid that if seats for women are increased, then the stature of common women would grow and they would overshadow these parties’ leaders,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the Congress has consistently opposed reforms aimed at building a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

He cited examples such as the GST, CAA, UCC, abrogation of Article 370, Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, digital payments, ‘One Nation, One Poll’, SIR, measures against LWE, and steps to counter illegal immigration as reforms opposed by the Congress.

Calling the Congress a predatory party pursuing selfish politics, he said its stand on the women’s quota Bill has adversely impacted its regional allies, including the DMK, Trinamool Congress, and Samajwadi Party.

“By supporting the women’s quota, the DMK and the Trinanool Congress had an opportunity to send more MPs from their states to Parliament. But they squandered the opportunity,” he said.

He added that the Samajwadi Party also had a chance to address its perceived anti-women image by supporting the Bill but failed to do so.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, failed to secure the constitutionally required two-thirds majority. It garnered 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the 352 votes required for passage.

The Prime Minister said the outcome of the Bill has exposed what he described as a pattern among opposition parties of opposing women’s reservation on various grounds, adding that women voters would respond to this in due course.

–IANS

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