Congress mentioned 59 times, women barely: Kharge slams PM's address to nation

A major political confrontation erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation following the defeat of the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari launching a coordinated and detailed attack on his speech.

The Opposition accused the Prime Minister of turning an official national address into a partisan political broadcast, following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures.

Mallikarjun Kharge strongly criticised the Prime Minister’s address, saying it reflected a clear shift in priorities away from women’s empowerment.

He said, “Modi ji mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities. Women are not the BJP’s priority. Congress is.”

Kharge also accused the Prime Minister



of misusing the national platform, saying, “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.”

He further said the address focused more on attacking Opposition parties than on explaining the failure of the women’s reservation bill.

Kharge also referred to the parliamentary proceedings, saying millions of women were watching the debate closely.

He said he was deeply saddened that when the proposal was defeated, “family-led parties like Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party were accused of celebrating while women’s rights were taken away.”

He added, “What happened was not just desk thumping, it was an attack on women’s self-respect and self-esteem.”

Kharge further said, “Women may forget many things, but they never forget their insult.”