During the discussion of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The Delimitation Bill, 2026 in Lok Sabha, Gandhi highlighted that all sections cannot get due share without caste census and that the government wants to proceed with 2011 Census as OBC data is not present.
Also read: Women’s reservation, Delimitation bills: PM Narendra Modi offers ‘blank cheque’ to opposition for credit
“By using the 2011 census as the basis for delimitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to take away the rights of the OBC community and is going to do a great injustice to them. The Congress party will never allow this to happen,” she said, adding that India’s Constitution belongs to everyone and this country belongs to every citizen.
During her remarks, Gandhi noted that the Bill does not include a word on process for increasing number of seats in Lok Sabha, a key initiative highlighted by the ruling government during the recent proceedings of the Parliament Budget Session. She further raised a question saying, “Why can’t 33 per cent reservation be given to women in the 543 seats of Lok Sabha currently.”
“This Bill does not just have this shortcoming, there is another serious concern. A 50 per cent expansion of Parliament has been proposed, but not a single word has been written about a concrete process to implement it.”
Govt began finishing off democracy by putting pressure on institutions but open attack on democracy is being launched now, she said. “The provision of 33 per cent reservation in panchayats and municipalities was first introduced in the House by the Indian National Congress government under the leadership of the late Rajiv Gandhi…”On PM Modi’s remarks on the proposals in Parliament, Gandhi said, “Today, the Prime Minister casually said that the concerns of certain sections would be addressed later. Which sections is he referring to? He was talking about the OBC community, saying it can be looked into later.”
She noted that this matter should not be taken lightly as the OBC community represents a large section of the society.
“By calling it a ‘technical issue’, he has tried to sidestep the matter. We are raising their demands and highlighting their needs, saying they too deserve their rightful share. But the Prime Minister has reduced it to a technical issue,” she added.
Recalling the past of the bills, Priyanka Gandhi said that Motilal Nehru prepared a report in 1928 and presented it to the Congress Party’s Working Committee, in which he had listed 19 fundamental rights.
“In 1931, the Congress session was held in Karachi under the chairmanship of Sardar Patel. This resolution was passed at that Karachi session, marking the beginning of women’s equal rights becoming a part of our country’s politics. At the same time, the principle of “One Vote, One Citizen, One Value” was also established in our politics,” she said, highlighting that implementing women’s reservations in India’s political system was a unique step in the world.
Adding further, Gandhi mentioned that the Congress Party again attempted to provide reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies in 2010 under the leadership of the late Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
The proposal was even passed in the Rajya Sabha, but consensus failed in the Lok Sabha, she said adding that Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Modi in 2018, stating that this women’s reservation should be implemented by 2019.
“I suspect the Prime Minister may mock Rahul Gandhi here, but he considers his words when he returns home…” Priyanka Gandhi said in Lok Sabha.
