NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Centre during the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill and Delimitation proposals, alleging that the legislation was aimed at redrawing India’s electoral balance rather than empowering women.Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the special Parliament session, the senior Congress leader said the government was using women’s reservation as a cover to pursue political objectives and retain power. He also accused the Centre of attempting to weaken the political voice of OBCs and Dalits through constituency restructuring.
Rahul Gandhi said the entire opposition would resist what he described as an “anti-national” move and defeat any attempt to alter the democratic structure for partisan gain.
Top quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha address
- “The first truth is that this is not a women’s bill. This has nothing to do with the empowerment of women. This is an attempt to change the electoral map of India.”
- “Women are a central force, a driving force in our national imagination, in our national perspective.”
- “All of us, every single one in this room has been influenced, taught, learnt a lot from women in their lives.”
- “This bill is an attempt to change country’s electoral map; using and hiding behind India’s women.”
- “Prime Minister and myself don’t have that wife issue. So, we don’t get that input but we have our mothers and sisters.”
- “Manuvad over Samvidhaan…Amit Shah ji says that the caste census has begun. He repeated twice, trying to be clever, saying that houses don’t have caste. The point is whether or not the caste census is going to be used in representation in Parliament & State Assemblies. And now, what you are trying to do is that caste census has nothing to do with representation for the next 15 years…”
- “It is a historical fact that how Indian society treated Dalits and OBCs and their women…What is being attempted here is a bypass of the caste census. Here, the yare trying to avoid giving power and representation to my OBC brothers and sisters and taking power from them.”
- “What you (BJP) are doing, because you are scared of what is happening in the politics of the country, you are scared of the erosion of your strength, and you are trying to rejig the Indian political map. You did it in Assam, J&K, and now imagining you can do it in India. You need a constitutional amendment to do that.”
Rahul Gandhi argued that the Bill was less about representation of women and more about political engineering through constituency redrawing.According to him, the proposed delimitation exercise would alter the electoral map in a way that benefits the ruling BJP and undermines existing social justice frameworks.He also alleged that the move was designed to reduce the political influence of backward communities and marginalised sections.Despite criticising the Bill, Rahul Gandhi strongly praised the role of women in society and politics, saying they remain central to the country’s identity and progress.He said women had shaped the lives and thinking of everyone in Parliament through their influence as mothers, sisters and family members.During his speech, Rahul Gandhi also injected humour into the debate with a remark that drew laughter in the House.“Prime Minister and myself don’t have that wife issue…,” he said while referring to the role women play in shaping men’s lives.He also referred to his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and joked that she had achieved something he had not managed in years by making Union Home Minister Amit Shah smile.The debate took place during the special session of Parliament was convened to discuss women’s reservation and delimitation. The opposition has raised concerns that linking women’s quota implementation with delimitation could have wider consequences for federal balance, regional representation and caste-based political participation.
