Rahul Gandhi calls bill's defeat a win against 'unconstitutional trick'

Rahul Gandhi hailed the INDIA bloc's unity in defeating the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, calling it a defence against an 'unconstitutional trick' to push through a controversial Delimitation Bill linked to women's reservation.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the government, moments after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, framing the bill's defeat as a successful defence against an "unconstitutional trick."

Taking to social media and addressing reporters shortly after the House adjourned, Gandhi claimed that the legislation was never intended to empower women immediately but was instead a calculated move to push through the controversial Delimitation Bill. He hailed INDIA's block unity in defeating the bill in the Lok Sabha.

'Unconstitutional Trick' Defeated, Says Opposition

On X, Gandhi wrote," The amendment bill has fallen. They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution. India has seen it. INDIA has stopped it. Hail the Constitution."

The opposition's primary grievance centred on the government's decision to link the implementation of the 33% women's quota to the 2029 general elections and the completion of a fresh census and delimitation exercise.

The defeat marks a rare moment of effective parliamentary resistance for the INDIA bloc, which managed to deny the government the required two-thirds majority. The final tally--298 in favour and 230 against--fell significantly short of the threshold needed for a constitutional amendment.

By defeating the 131st Amendment, the opposition has effectively stalled the related Delimitation Bill, which they feared would penalise southern states for their successful population control measures.

Govt Expresses Disappointment, Accuses Opposition of Being 'Anti-Women'

The government, represented by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, expressed disappointment at the outcome, accusing the opposition of being "anti-women."

The Constitution Amendment Bill for the implementation of Women's Reservation from the 2029 general elections was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with the opposition parties voting against it.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the results of the division."The Constitution (131st Amendment) Amendment Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House," he said.

INDIA Bloc Leaders Explain Vote Against Bill

Reacting to this, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, speaking to reporters, said, "It has been a very convincing victory. The BJP fell 52 votes short of the two-thirds they needed to pass the constitutional amendment. We are feeling a certain sense of triumph. This is not a vote against women's reservation, but against delimitation and the mischief that delimitation and the dramatic expansion of Parliament would do to our democracy, so we voted to save our democracy. We have said even in our speeches that we will vote for women's reservation if you will delink it from delimitation. It is against their refusal to delink this that we have voted."

Congress MP Manish Tewari said, "This was not a women's reservation bill, it was a delimitation bill. We have been continuously telling the government to reserve 181 seats out of 543 for women. But the government's intention was not clear. It was basically a delimitation bill."

Along with them, Karnataka Deputy CM and Congress leader DK Shivakumar said, "It is a win for South India. It is a victory of the Opposition parties. It is a victory of the women of the country."

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram stated that we completely supported the Women's Reservation Bill, which was passed in 2023. The bill that was defeated is the Delimitation Bill; our support for women's reservation is still there."

Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "I believe that if Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government had introduced a simple women's reservation bill, without any requirements for delimitation or census, women's reservation would have advanced significantly. The women's reservation law passed in 2023, which the government implemented last night, will be implemented further. But the political delimitation they wanted to do in the name of women's reservation in 2026 has been exposed across the country. Somewhere, the BJP only wants to play politics, and the country has understood this today."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)