Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of turning an official address to the nation into a “political speech” marked by “mudslinging” and “outright lies”, following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came hours after the proposed legislation, which sought to expand the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats to enable 33% reservation for women by the 2029 elections, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. While 298 members voted in favour, 230 Opposition MPs voted against the bill.
In a post on X, Kharge said: “A desperate and frustrated PM [Narendra Modi] with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years, turned an official address to the nation into a political speech, full of mudslinging, and outright LIES.”
Alleging a violation of electoral norms, he said the Prime Minister had misused official machinery ahead of Assembly elections in two States.
“The Model Code of Conduct is already in place and it was very clear how PM Modi misused official machinery to attack his opponents. This is a travesty of Democracy and the Constitution of India,” he added.
The bill was linked to the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, passed in 2023, and required delimitation and census-related processes before coming into effect.
In his 30-minute address, the Prime Minister slammed the Opposition for blocking what he described as a key reform for women’s representation.
Expressing disappointment over the bill’s defeat, he alleged that some Opposition leaders had “celebrated” the outcome, calling it an insult to women. He further accused them of “taking women for granted” and said they had committed “foeticide”.
Kharge, however, countered that the Prime Minister’s speech focused disproportionately on attacking the Congress. “Modi ji mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely a few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities,” he wrote.
“Women are not the BJP’s priority. Congress is, because Congress stands on the right side of history,” he added.
Kharge said the Congress had ensured the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 and had also backed the 2023 legislation. He questioned the delay in its implementation, stating, “The fact that it took the BJP 3 years to notify their own bill, shows their commitment to India’s Naari Shakti!”
“Modi ji should STOP lying to the nation,” he said.
Kharge also placed three demands before the Prime Minister. “He should implement 33% reservation for women in the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats under the 2023 law. Do not deny women their due representation now,” he said.
“Stop mixing up the delimitation bills… with the Women’s Reservation Bill… This was NOT. This was purely a delimitation Bill,” he added, before calling on the Prime Minister to “apologise to 140 crore Indians.”
Sharpening his attack, Kharge accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of being “anti-women in both action and attitude”. He cited incidents such as Hathras and Unnao, and referred to the treatment of women wrestlers in Haryana.
He further alleged that the party had shielded those accused of sexual crimes, mentioning the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case and accusing its leaders of publicly supporting such individuals. “They have garlanded criminals and rapists,” he said.
“After 12 and a half years in power… the Prime Minister had nothing to offer the nation except a political speech,” he added.