New Delhi, April 19 -- The Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shedding "crocodile tears" over the issue of reservation for women and demanded that the quota be implemented immediately on the current strength of the Lok Sabha.

The Opposition party also asserted that what was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was not the women's reservation Bill but delimitation.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate pointed out that the women's reservation Bill was passed unanimously by Parliament on September 21, 2023, and it is part of the Constitution now. "The women's reservation Bill was not defeated, the delimitation, which you (government) wanted to thrust on the nation, was defeated," she said at a press conference here.

"PM Modi is shedding crocodile tears and hiding behind the women's reservation Bill," she said.

Shrinate displayed a cartoon, which showed the PM having a basket with 543 mangoes, but refusing to give women a 33 per cent share and telling them that he can give them their share only if he can increase the number to 850, which the Opposition is not letting him do.

On the PM's address to the nation over the rejection of the Constitution amendment Bill in Parliament, the Congress leader reiterated her party's stand that if he was really sincere, he should immediately provide reservation to women within the current strength of the Lok Sabha of 543.

"You have put a condition on that. Remove that condition. You are the ones creating hurdles in women's reservation, you want to keep men happy and not reduce their seats," she said, hitting out at the government.

Referring to Modi apologising to women, Shrinate said the PM was right as he does owe an apology to the women of the country for what happened to two Manipur women during riots, what happened in Hathras and Unnao, what happened with the women Olympians and how the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were honoured.

"You were right. Women won't forget their insults. Who else knows it better than you?" she said.

Shrinate said of the 240 MPs, only 31 are women, which is only 12 per cent. Of the 1,654 legislators across the country, there are only 164 women, which is less than 10 per cent.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.