‘Cowardly, hypocritical and short-tongued’: Mamata Banerjee hits back at PM Modi over women’s reservation bill

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday gave a sharp response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of opposition parties, including the TMC, over the failure of the women’s reservation bill.In a long message shared on social media, she accused the Prime Minister of misleading the country rather than directly addressing people’s concerns. She also defended her party All India Party Trinamool Congresssaying it has always supported women’s political representation.“It is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to mislead the nation rather than address this issue honestly,” she wrote, adding that the Trinamool Congress has one of the highest female representations in Parliament and state legislatures. “The issue of opposition to women’s reservation has never arisen,” she said.Mamta, however, made it clear that her party was opposed to the proposed delimitation exercise, alleging that the Center was trying to use the women’s reservation as a cover for political gain to push for the delimitation exercise. “What we fundamentally oppose is the Modi government’s conspiracy to push for demarcation using women as a shield for its vested political agenda,” she wrote.She claimed the measures would change the constitution and “are an attack on federal democracy. We will not watch in silence as it happens.” Questioning the timing of the bill, the West Bengal chief minister asked why the government delayed its implementation after the bill was passed in September 2023 and why it was linked to delimitation. She also criticized the Prime Minister for not addressing Parliament directly. “Next time you address the nation, have the courage to speak in Parliament,” she wrote, calling his comments “cowardly, hypocritical and vitriolic.”“What you did yesterday was cowardly, disingenuous and incoherent. You could feel the power slipping through your fingers. You were ready to do whatever it took to hold on just a little longer,” she said.Her response came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition parties of blocking the bill during his address to the nation on Saturday night. “For us, national interest comes first. But for some, when party interests become everything, women empowerment and national interest suffer,” he said, adding, “The selfish politics of political parties like Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party cost the women of this country.”