PM Modi’s pointed attack on Opposition after Women’s Bill defeat: 6 points

Congress as “anti-reform”

While attacking the Congress as an anti-reform party, the PM promised that he would work to remove every hurdle in the path of women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

“Women on board”

PM Modi claimed that while the Bill could not garner two-thirds support in the Lok Sabha, 100-percent women of the country were blessing him. In saying so, Modi sought to project the Bill’s failure as an expression of the opposition being “anti-women” and as an endorsement of his party being truly committed to women’s empowerment through assured representation. He attacked the opposition’s applause for the rejection of the Bill, saying that it was an attack on women’s self-respect that women never forget.

Electoral outcome

Modi cautioned the parties that had opposed the Bill in the Lok Sabha that they should not take “Nari Shakti” lightly, suggesting that women of the country would punish them for it. Apart from attacking national rival Congress repeatedly, the PM also attacked the DMK, TMC and SP. While elections to the Tamil Nadu and Bengal state assemblies are on – where the BJP finds formidable foes in the DMK and TMC, respectively – Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls next year, and SP is the BJP’s formidable opponent in the state.

Dynastic politics 

Modi said that dynastic parties had opposed the Bills, since they were afraid that common women would benefit if it was passed. He added that the Congress had proved by opposing the Bill that it was an anti-reform party given to distraction.

No regional discrimination

PM Modi asserted that the Bill would have facilitated a uniform 50-% increase in seats across states and not disturb the inter-state seat balance hitherto based on the 1971 census, amid criticism that the 2011 census being evoked by the failed Bills would alter the inter-state distribution of Lok Sabha seats if the Bill had been passed.

No Credit 

During his speech, the PM refuted the idea that he was seeking credit through the Bill, adding that he would have had no problem sharing credit with the opposition. “Some people are saying this is a failure of the government. But the issue is not about credit or discredit. I had said I would credit the opposition with advertisements (if the Bill was passed),” Modi said.

Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More

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