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Describing the Congress as ‘anti-women’, the PM said that the grand old party has opposed several policies such as SIR, among others. He said parties such as SP, TMC – all had the opportunity to contribute to women's empowerment, but 'missed it'. How many women MPs do these parties have?
How do the numbers of India's major political parties stack up, when it comes to women's representation in the Lok Sabha? West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress tops the list, where 11 out of its 29 MPs (37.93%) are women, while Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) comes second with five of its 37 MPs (18.18%) being women.
These are what the current figures of the 18th Lok Sabha are – at a time when there has been massive debate on how and when to implement the 2023 law granting 33% women’s quota in the Lok Sabha and assemblies.
Numbers decoded
Here's a look at the percentage of women in each of the Opposition parties – including Congress, TMC, among others. These are also the parties which PM Narendra Modi mentioned during his address to the nation on Saturday night, 18 April.
| Congress | 14 | 99 | 14.14% |
| TMC | 11 | 29 | 37.93% |
| Samajwadi Party | 5 | 37 | 13.50% |
| DMK | 4 | 22 | 18.18% |
How many women MPs does BJP have in LS?
The Bharatiya Janata Party has 31 women MPs in the Lok Sabha — which is the highest in terms of absolute numbers, as compared to TMC, SP, DMK. However, when seen as a part of the total 240MPs that the saffron party has – the percentage share amounts to 12.9%.
What PM said
PM Modi, during his address to the nation on Saturday – criticised the Opposition parties after the bill to implement women's reservation – the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill – in legislatures failed to pass the Lok Sabha.
Describing the Congress as “anti-women”, the PM said that the grand old party has opposed several policies such as SIR, among others. He said parties such as SP, TMC – all had the 'opportunity to contribute to women's empowerment, but they lost the chance.'
“I was deeply saddened to see, when this proposal for women's welfare was defeated, dynastic parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party were clapping with joy," Modi said.
The bill needed a two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha, which is approximately 360 votes, to get passed in the lower house of Parliament. However, only 298 MPs voted in favour of the bill, and 230 MPs voted against it on Friday, 17 April.
What the Bill proposed
Under the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased up to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Why the Opposition voted against the Bill?
– During the debate over women's quota in Lok Sabha on Friday, 17 April – Rahul Gandhi had alleged the proposed legislation is an "attempt to change country's electoral map, while hiding behind India's women". He also claimed that the government is going to take away representation from South India – adding that the opposition won't allow the government to do so.
– Participating in the debate, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had argued that the government had unnecessarily tied a “moral imperative” to a “demographic minefield.”
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