Modi Urges Political Parties to Support Women's Reservation Bill

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all political parties to support the implementation of a 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies during his address from the Red Fort on August 15, 2026. Characterizing the reservation as the "call of the hour," Modi stated that opposition parties could "take the credit" for the legislation's passage to ensure women contribute to the evolution of national policies.

The appeal follows the April 17, 2026, defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, which failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. The bill seeks to operationalize the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam by increasing Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 815 or 816 through a delimitation exercise based on 2011 Census data. While the National Democratic Alliance's strength has marginally increased to 299 seats, it remains short of the 352 votes necessary for a constitutional amendment.

Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress and All India Trinamool Congress, claim to support women's reservation but oppose linking it to delimitation. They allege the government intends to use the process to disproportionately increase seats in northern India. Member of Parliament Sagarika Ghose criticized the appeal as a political agenda, while other opposition leaders demanded the immediate implementation of the quota within the existing 543 seats.