The Congress on Friday questioned the Narendra Modi government’s “U-turn” on implementing the law on women’s reservation in Parliament, and said that the prime minister “owes an apology to the women of India”.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh made the remarks a day after Modi said that the proposed amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act reflect the aspirations of the country’s women and urged MPs across party lines to support the move.

In 2023, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which provides for 33% women’s reservation in Parliament and state Assemblies, was passed in Parliament. However, its implementation was linked to delimitation – the process of redrawing boundaries of electoral constituencies – based on the 2027 Census.

This would likely mean that the women’s quota would only be implemented in 2034, as the delimitation based on the 2027 Census may not be completed before the 2029 Lok Sabha election.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved a draft amendment bill that would increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from 543, PTI reported. Out of these, 273 seats, or about one-third, are proposed to be reserved for women.

A special three-day sitting of Parliament is expected to be held from April 16 to April 18, when the amendment bill will be discussed.

On Friday, Ramesh claimed that Modi had “changed his mind” on the timeline for implementing women’s reservation due to fears of defeat in the ongoing Assembly elections.

The Congress general secretary said that when the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed by Parliament unanimously in 2023, his party had demanded that it should be implemented from 2024 itself.

“But this was not acceptable to the PM who made the reservation dependent on the delimitation and census exercises that he had failed to conduct and then dithered on for many years,” he remarked.

Ramesh said that Modi now wants citizens to forget the government’s earlier stand on implementing the women’s quota only after delimitation.

“This is despite the fact that his Census Registrar has clarified that the results will be out by 2027,” he remarked. “It’s a narrative that is based on lies and equivocation, all undertaken with the hope that the women of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will flock to the BJP.”

Ramesh claimed that the Modi government’s “U-turn” exposed its unwillingness to engage with the opposition and its lack of planning.

“That said, Mr. Modi, being who is, already claiming credit for the U turn as well,” the Congress leader remarked. “There is simply no limit to his hypocrisy and deception. All this is to cover up his monumental failures in governance and severe setbacks to foreign policy.”