PM Modi says 'will get more chances' to push for women's quota, blames Congress as 'anti-reform party' | Highlights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on April 18, 2026. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube/@NarendraModi

This live blog is closedA day after the government failed to secure passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Act and the Delimitation Bill—which sought to implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies—Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the NDA remained committed to removing all obstacles in the path of this move.Addressing the nation on Saturday evening (April 18, 2026), Mr. Modi launched a sharp attack on the Opposition, accusing it of “committing a foeticide of the idea of women’s representation before the whole world, via their opposition to the move”.Editorial | Deservedly dead: On the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026Reacting to the address, the Congress said he delivered a “distress address” rather than a national address, and challenged him to bring a Bill in Parliament to implement women’s reservation within the existing set up of the Lok Sabha.Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha Leader Derek O’Brien accused the government of using women as a “decoy” to push delimitation.Follow the highlights here Published - April 18, 2026 06:53 pm IST