NEW DELHI: Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that the defeat of the women reservation bill in the Lok Sabha should not be seen as failure of the government and accused Congress of causing a big setback to the country.While addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the Budget session, Rijiju said that the opposition will have to bear the brunt of being anti-women.”The Budget Session was extended for three days April 16, 17, 18 during which Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and Delimitation Bill were introduced. We have the majority, but we didn’t get the 2/3rd majority needed for Constitution Amendment,” Rijiju said.”Congress will have to face the anger of women; celebrating women’s defeat is proof of their anti-women mindset,” he added.Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hailed the defeat of the Delimitation Bill in the Parliament as a “victory of democracy” and accused the Centre of hatching a conspiracy to alter the federal structure of the country.While addressing a press conference, Priyanka said that Centre is planning to stay in power using Women.”What happened yesterday was a huge victory for democracy. The government’s conspiracy to alter the federal structure and weaken democracy was defeated and stopped. This was a victory for the Constitution, a victory for the country, and a victory for the unity of the opposition, and it was clearly visible on the faces of the ruling party leaders,” the Congress leader said.”I think it’s a conspiracy that somehow they need to stay in power… So, to achieve this, they’re planning how to permanently stay in power using women… They thought that if it was passed, they’d win. If it’s not passed, they’ll become the saviours of women by branding other parties as anti-women… We know that becoming a savior for women isn’t easy,” she added.Countering Priyanka, BJP leader Smriti Irani lashed out Congress MPs celebrating the defeat of the bill and accused the party of crushing the aspirations of ordinary women in the country.”Today, in a Congress party press conference, a 98-year-old “favor” was invoked before the women of the nation. The country’s women were told that the Congress party had once created a dream aimed at securing political rights for them. What has become of that intent over 98 years was witnessed yesterday in Parliament by women across the country,” Irani said during a press conference.”The Congress party appeared self-congratulatory, smiling and thumping desks, celebrating what was portrayed as having crushed the aspirations of ordinary women in this country,” she added.This comes after the bill proposing women’s reservation through a delimitation exercise could not secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 members voting in favour and 230 opposing it.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the Constitution Amendment Bill had not been passed. Following the outcome, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not proceed with the remaining two interlinked bills.The BJP has accused opposition parties of blocking a historic reform aimed at ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that parties like Congress, TMC, and others prevented the passage of the bill and warned of political consequences.However, the opposition has maintained that it supports women’s reservation in principle but opposes linking it with delimitation and census processes. Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, described the bill as an attempt to alter India’s electoral structure, while several Congress leaders termed the vote a defence of democratic values.
