Mamata Banerjee Accuses PM Modi of Misleading Nation Over Delimitation and Women’s Reservation

Kolkata, April 2026 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of misleading the nation in his recent address regarding the proposed delimitation exercise and women’s reservation.

Taking to social media platform X, Banerjee asserted that her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has consistently supported greater representation of women in legislative bodies. She highlighted that TMC has one of the highest proportions of women representatives in both Parliament and the state Assembly. According to her, nearly 37.9 per cent of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs are women, while about 46 per cent of its Rajya Sabha members are women.

“It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to mislead the nation rather than speak honestly,” she said, adding that the question of opposing women’s reservation “does not arise and never has” for her party.

The remarks come a day after the Central government failed to secure the passage of key legislations, including the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, which aimed to fast-track the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. In his address to the nation, Modi had strongly criticised the Opposition, accusing it of undermining the idea of women’s representation by opposing the move.

Responding to these allegations, Banerjee clarified that her party’s opposition was not to women’s reservation itself, but to the proposed delimitation exercise linked to it. She alleged that the Centre was attempting to use the issue of women’s representation as a “shield” to push a political agenda that could alter the balance of power among states.

“We fundamentally oppose the attempt to redraw political boundaries in a manner that could benefit certain states at the cost of others,” she said. Banerjee further argued that such moves could undermine the principles of federalism and weaken the spirit of the Constitution drafted under B. R. Ambedkar.

Describing the proposal as an “assault on federal democracy,” the Chief Minister said that her party would not remain silent in the face of any attempt to “divide the nation” or manipulate electoral representation through what she termed as gerrymandering.

She also questioned the timing of the government’s move, pointing out that the Women’s Reservation law was passed in 2023 but had not been implemented for nearly three years. “If the government was truly committed to this cause, why delay its implementation and then rush it during election season?” she asked.

Banerjee further criticised the decision to combine women’s reservation with delimitation, suggesting that the linkage raised doubts about the government’s intentions.

In a strongly worded remark, she also urged the Prime Minister to address the nation from Parliament rather than through public broadcasts. “The next time you speak to the country, do so from the floor of Parliament, where there is scope for scrutiny, debate, and accountability,” she said.

The Chief Minister’s comments underscore the intensifying political confrontation between the ruling party and the Opposition over issues of representation, federal balance, and electoral reforms, as the debate over women’s reservation and delimitation continues to shape national discourse.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)