Chennai, April 18, 2026: In his first public address in Tamil Nadu after the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill linked to delimitation and women reservation in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening accused the DMK, Congress and their allies of derailing a noble effort as they did not want to see more ordinary Tamil women become MPs and MLAs.
Modi vows continued fight for women’s representation
Modi assured that “this is not the end; this is just the beginning and BJP and NDA, for your rights, will keep fighting,” he said at an election meeting in Coimbatore district in the presence of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and other leaders.
Allegations over derailing women’s reservation effort
“Today, in the midst of you, I want to share my disappointment and anger. In 2023, we passed the Nari Sakthi Vandan Adhiniyam (Women Reservation Act). And on the 16th of this month, we took a historic step to implementing women reservation in parliament and legislative assembly. I personally asked all political parties to support this. I told them very clearly that they may take the credit, I have no objection. I only wanted sisters from ordinary families to come to parliament and assembly in large numbers. But unfortunately this noble effort was derailed. DMK, Congress and their allies made it a target of hatred and petty politics,” Modi charged.
Claims on impact of bill and seat allocation
According to him, if this bill had been passed, many Tamil women from ordinary families would become MPs and MLAs. [On the] basis [of] the 2011 census, Tamil Nadu was going to get so many more seats but clearly DMK did not want this to happen. Any how the DMK’s actions are now very very clearly unfolded, he said.
Criticism of DMK’s stance
“By wearing black clothes DMK cannot cover up their wrong intentions. I want to tell the DMK, people know your black deeds. You cannot escape your black deeds,” he said.
Accusations of spreading misinformation
“Today DMK has no achievements to showcase; no real issues to raise. That is why they resorted to spreading fake fears about a reduction in Tamil Nadu’s [Lok Sabha] seats. DMK had said earlier that current proportional ratio must be maintained. We agreed. But now they have done a ‘U-turn’,” he charged.
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Call to voters ahead of polls
Modi questioned why it troubles the DMK and Congress to see ordinary women rise. “These one-family parties want power to remain confined within their own families,” he charged while urging every sister in Tamil Nadu to confront the DMK’s representatives on “why they denied Tamil women this golden opportunity”. He hoped the women would give the DMK-Congress a clear and powerful message at the polling booths on April 23.
