The political debate over women’s reservation grew sharper in Chandigarh on Sunday as the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused each other of misleading the public. The exchange came two days after a Constitution amendment bill related to women’s reservation failed to pass in the Lok Sabha.
The bill aimed to provide 33 percent reservation for women in legislatures and increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 by the year 2029. However, it did not receive enough support in Parliament. Since then, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have tried to present themselves as true supporters of women’s empowerment.
Separate press conferences were held by both parties in Chandigarh, where leaders strongly criticised one another.
The BJP held its media briefing at the party’s state office in Sector 33. Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said the proposed legislation was a historic step that would have given women stronger political representation in India.
He claimed that the opposition parties blocked the bill because of political interests and fear of losing their traditional power base.
According to Seth, some opposition leaders publicly support women’s empowerment but do not want women to receive real political rights when it comes to sharing power.
He said the bill would have created more opportunities for women in Parliament and state legislatures and would have marked a major reform in Indian democracy.
Senior BJP leader Kiran Choudhry also criticised the Congress during the press conference. She said the Congress had ruled the country for many years but failed to ensure proper political participation for women.
She referred to earlier attempts to bring women’s reservation legislation and alleged that previous Congress governments introduced such bills without serious intention to pass them.
According to BJP leaders, the current government made a genuine attempt to bring structural change, but opposition parties stopped it in Parliament.
The Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee responded strongly and accused the BJP of misleading people on the women’s reservation issue.
The Congress held its own press conference at Rajiv Gandhi Congress Bhawan in Sector 35. Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky said the BJP was placing unnecessary conditions before implementing women’s reservation.
He alleged that the government linked the quota to delimitation and an increase in Lok Sabha seats as part of a political strategy rather than a sincere effort to help women.
Lucky said that if the BJP truly wanted to empower women, it should immediately implement 33 percent reservation based on the current strength of Parliament without waiting for future changes.
According to him, there is no need to delay women’s representation by connecting it with seat expansion or constituency redrawing.
He argued that women have already waited for decades and should not be asked to wait longer because of political calculations.
Lucky also highlighted the Congress party’s past record on women’s leadership. He mentioned former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, former President Pratibha Patil, and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as examples of women who held top constitutional positions under Congress-led governments.
He said these examples prove that the Congress has historically supported women in public life.
Mahila Congress president Nandita Hooda also spoke during the event. She announced that the party would begin a public outreach campaign to challenge what she described as the BJP’s false narrative on women’s reservation.
She said the Congress would go among the people and explain that it supports women’s reservation but opposes attempts to use the issue for political gain.
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Women’s reservation has remained one of the most discussed political reforms in India for many years. Many parties publicly support increasing women’s representation in elected bodies, but disagreement continues over how and when it should be implemented.
The recent bill became controversial because it combined reservation with future delimitation and expansion of Lok Sabha seats. Critics argued that this could delay actual implementation.
Supporters of the bill said linking reservation with delimitation would allow a fresh and balanced allocation of reserved seats across the country.
Opposition leaders, however, said women should not have to wait for future administrative changes when reservation can begin immediately using existing constituencies.
This disagreement eventually led to the bill failing in the Lok Sabha, creating a major political moment.
Now both sides are trying to shape public opinion.
The BJP is presenting itself as the party that brought a historic reform but was blocked by the opposition.
The Congress, meanwhile, says it supports women’s reservation fully but opposes what it calls conditional implementation.
Political observers believe the issue may remain active in the coming months, especially ahead of future elections. Women voters form a major part of the electorate, and parties are likely to continue focusing on policies related to women’s empowerment, safety, welfare, and representation.
For many citizens, however, the central question remains simple: when will women actually get one-third reservation in legislatures?
The events in Chandigarh showed that while both the BJP and Congress claim to support the cause, they sharply disagree on the path forward.
As the national debate continues, pressure is likely to grow on all parties to move beyond speeches and ensure that women receive stronger representation in Parliament and state assemblies without further delay.
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