Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday apologised to the women of the country after the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill failed to clear the floor test in the Lok Sabha, while launching a blistering attack on Opposition parties and accusing them of stalling women’s empowerment for political gains.

Addressing the nation hours after the special Parliament session concluded, the prime minister said he “sought forgiveness” from the women of India over the Bill’s failure to secure the required two-thirds majority.

“Every citizen of India is watching how dreams of our women have been crushed,” Modi said, adding that the fight for women’s empowerment had been derailed due to the “selfish politics” of Opposition parties.

In a sharp political broadside, Modi accused Opposition parties of “committing a sin” by blocking the legislation. “Opposition has committed a sin by opposing women reservation and they will be surely punished for this,” he said.

He further alleged that parties including Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party had committed “bhroon hatya” (female foeticide) by defeating the Bill.

He said he had expected the Congress to correct past mistakes but it had “missed an opportunity to script new history”.

Escalating his attack, the prime minister described the Congress as an “anti-reform party”, accusing it of continuing colonial-era divide-and-rule politics.

“Family-run parties do not want women to move forward as women could end their selfish politics,” he said.

He also accused the Congress of spreading misinformation over delimitation and attempting to create a false North-South divide. “Congress has always believed in politics of dividing people,” he said.

Separately, he alleged that the Opposition had opposed key reforms including GST, Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, triple talaq and Article 370, and continued to resist initiatives such as ‘One Nation, One Election’, SIR and Waqf Board reforms.

Calling the Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment the “need of the hour”, Modi said it was an honest attempt to ensure balanced empowerment across the country.

“We stand with the people of the country, but some are concerned only about political gains. Every citizen has seen how women’s rights were suppressed in the Lok Sabha,” he said in a related remark.

He added, “Opposition parties are taking ‘Nari Shakti’ lightly. People will punish them. They cannot escape public anger.”

Reiterating his criticism, he said many national challenges stemmed from the Opposition’s “negative approach”, adding, “Every single challenge our country faces today is due to negative approach of Congress party over years.”

On delimitation concerns, Modi said the DMK had opportunities to increase Tamil representation but failed to act. He also dismissed claims that states would lose representation, calling it a “false narrative” spread by Opposition parties.

He warned that public sentiment would ultimately respond to those opposing women’s empowerment, saying, “Women of our country will give a befitting reply to Congress and its allies.”