PM Modi to address nation at 8.30 pm tonight; focus may be on women’s quota

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation at 8.30 pm on Saturday (April 9). However, the subject of his speech is yet to be announced.

"The Prime Minister will address the nation at 8.30 PM (April 18, Saturday)," an official said as quoted by PTI.

Focus likely on women’s quota

PM Modi is expected to delve into the issue of implementation of women's quota and the happenings in Parliament, where opposition parties on Friday voted against the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.

Also Read: Women’s Quota Amendment Bill defeat triggers BJP-Opposition war of words

Under the 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.

Numbers fall short in Lok Sabha

A two-thirds majority was required for the passage of the crucial bill but the ruling BJP-led alliance could not muster the numbers. During polling on the bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday night, 298 members voted in its support, while 230 MPs voted against it.

Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

Irani targets Congress, INDIA bloc

Earlier in the day, former Union Minister Smriti Irani lashed out at the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners, accusing them of closing ranks against the proposal to reserve one-third of seats in Parliament for women.

Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi calls women’s quota bill defeat ‘win for democracy’

Irani framed the debate as a test of intent versus action. “The women of the country were told that the Congress party has created a dream that holds the intention of securing political rights for women,” she said, pausing before adding, “What has become of that intention after 98 years was seen yesterday by women across the country in the nation's Parliament.”

Claims of betrayal and contrast with BJP

She pointed to the mood in the House during voting. “The Congress party smiled, thumped desks, and celebrated politically yesterday as they crushed the aspirations of the nation's political awakening,” Irani said, contrasting it with what she described as her party’s position. “But for the BJP, this is not just a struggle for power; it is a fight for the right to equality.”

Also Read: Women's Quota Amendment Bill fails: Here are the key takeaways

“Women will remember that during six decades of Congress rule, 11 crore women in this country were deprived of access to toilets… 25 crore women were denied the support to open bank accounts,” she said, before adding, “under BJP-NDA, the first gender budget framework was introduced.”

Questions over delimitation stance

Irani said the debate had laid bare what she called the opposition’s contradictions. “Congress and its supporting parties celebrated… how to deny those women their rights,” she said. She also questioned their stand on delimitation: “They say they support the bill passed in 2023… but also say they don't have faith in the arrangement for delimitation.”

“Congress has no faith in the country's constitutional arrangement… or in the women of the country,” she added.

(With agency inputs)