Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8:30 p.m. tonight, a day after the Women’s Reservation Bill failed to pass in the Lok Sabha.
The announcement came from the Prime Minister’s Office earlier on Sunday.
During a Cabinet meeting, Modi accused the Opposition of acting “against women” by rejecting the Bill. He reportedly said the Opposition’s stance was a mistake and warned that it would face political consequences. Sources revealed that Modi urged party leaders to take the message of women’s empowerment to every village across India.
The Women’s Reservation Bill sought to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies starting from 2029. It also proposed increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 through a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Out of 528 members who voted, 298 supported the Bill while 230 opposed it. The proposal fell short of the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. Following the defeat, the government asked Speaker Om Birla to defer two other Bills—the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
