Opposition committed foeticide of your rights: PM to women after quota setback

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday apologised to the nation's "mothers and daughters" following the defeat of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament as he tore into the opposition over what he called "foeticide (bhrun hatya)" of women's rights due to its "petty politics". In a 30-minute address to the nation, a combative Prime Minister underlined how the opposition, specifically naming the Congress, TMC and DMK, thumped their tables in jubilation after the bill failed the Lok Sabha test.

"I seek forgiveness from all women of the country for failing to get the bill passed. Due to the selfish politics of parties like Congress, DMK, TMC and the Samajwadi Party, the women of the country have suffered," PM Modi said. Notably, Bengal and Tamil Nadu, states where the TMC and DMK are in power, go to the polls next week.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, aimed to increase Lok Sabha seats for fast-tracking the implementation of women's reservation in Parliament, was defeated on Friday. It was the first major legislative loss for the Modi government since it came to power in 2014.

However, it must be noted that the 2023 women's reservation law, which was notified on



Thursday night, still stands.

Mixing emotion with a confrontational tone, the Prime Minister warned the opposition that a woman might forget everything, but not her insult.

"What happened in Parliament was not just desk thumping, but an attack on the dignity and self-respect of women. The conduct of the Congress and its allies in Parliament will remain in the minds of women across the country," he further said.

Warning the opposition, PM Modi said the women would "punish" the opposition leaders who "celebrated and rejoiced" in the Parliament.

"The women of this nation, whenever they encounter these leaders in their own neighbourhoods, will remember. They will remember that these are the very individuals who celebrated and rejoiced in the halls of Parliament when the hope for women's reservation was extinguished," PM Modi said.

The key accusation of the opposition was that the government was using the women's reservation issue to push for a delimitation exercise to help the BJP by redrawing the country's electoral map. The opposition also underlined that it would adversely impact the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha.