‘A black day at the Centre, they were shocked for the first time’: Priyanka on delimitation bill failure

New Delhi: Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hailed the delimitation bill’s defeat in Parliament as a “victory for democracy” and accused the Center of hatching a conspiracy to change the federal structure of the country.Addressing a press conference, Priyanka said the Center planned to use women to stay in power.“What happened yesterday was a huge victory for democracy. The government’s plot to change the federal structure and weaken democracy was foiled and stopped. It was a victory for the Constitution, a victory for the country, a victory for the unity of the opposition and it was clearly visible on the faces of the leaders of the ruling party,” the Congress leader said.“I think it’s a conspiracy and they need to somehow stay in power… So to achieve that, they are planning how to use women to stay in power permanently… They think if it passes, they will win. If it doesn’t pass, they will become the savior of women by labeling other parties anti-women… We know it’s not easy to be the savior of women,” she added.Priyanka also asked the Center to withdraw the unanimously passed bill of 2023. “This is a black day for them (center) because for the first time they are shocked and they deserve it. The problems of women today are exponential. The struggle is intensifying. Women are not fools. They see everything. PR and media hype no longer works. If you want concrete things, bring back the 2023 bill that was passed unanimously and has the support of all parties,” Priyanka said.“If you need to make some small changes to it so that it can be implemented now, do it now and implement it. Empower women now. But don’t try to mislead them by twisting it and attaching it to something else. Do it now. We’re all ready,” she said.Her remarks came after a bill proposing reservation for women through delimitation exercise failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 lawmakers voting in favor and 230 voting against.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the constitutional amendment has not been passed yet. After the results were announced, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not proceed with the remaining two interrelated bills.The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the opposition of blocking a historic reform aimed at ensuring 33% reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that political parties like Congress, TMC and others were blocking the passage of the bill and warned of the political consequences.The opposition, however, insists it supports women’s reservation in principle but objects to linking it to the delimitation and census processes. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha described the bill as an attempt to change India’s electoral structure, while several Congress leaders called the vote a defense of democratic values