<p>New Delhi: Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday accused the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> of consistently opposing welfare measures for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and women, as he defended the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, 2026.</p><p>Speaking to reporters, Joshi criticised the principal opposition party for its stand on the Delimitation Bill, saying the Congress has always resisted laws brought by the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/nda">NDA </a>government aimed at the upliftment of the poor and weaker sections of society.</p><p>"Whenever the NDA government brings any new law for the welfare of the poor and weaker sections, Congress is at the forefront to oppose it. The same is happening now with the Delimitation Bill,” he said.</p>.PM Modi links defeat of Women's Reservation Bill to 'foeticide' engineered by Opposition .<p>Joshi asserted that the public has lost faith in Congress leadership and its policies, while reposing strong confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p><p>“People have faith in PM Modi’s leadership and his policies; that’s why they vote for us. Even if there are 800 or 850 seats, the BJP will win. If the election is held for 543 seats, the BJP will win; there’s no doubt about it. They are confused,” he added.</p><p>The minister clarified that the Centre has delinked the census from delimitation to ensure the implementation of women’s reservation and to increase the total number of seats in Parliament.</p><p>Explaining the rationale behind increasing parliamentary seats, he pointed to India’s massive population growth. “When the population was 300-400 million, the number of seats was 544. Now the population is 1.4 billion. That is why delimitation is necessary when we want to increase the number,” he added.</p>
<p>New Delhi: Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday accused the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> of consistently opposing welfare measures for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and women, as he defended the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill, 2026.</p><p>Speaking to reporters, Joshi criticised the principal opposition party for its stand on the Delimitation Bill, saying the Congress has always resisted laws brought by the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/nda">NDA </a>government aimed at the upliftment of the poor and weaker sections of society.</p><p>"Whenever the NDA government brings any new law for the welfare of the poor and weaker sections, Congress is at the forefront to oppose it. The same is happening now with the Delimitation Bill,” he said.</p>.PM Modi links defeat of Women's Reservation Bill to 'foeticide' engineered by Opposition .<p>Joshi asserted that the public has lost faith in Congress leadership and its policies, while reposing strong confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p><p>“People have faith in PM Modi’s leadership and his policies; that’s why they vote for us. Even if there are 800 or 850 seats, the BJP will win. If the election is held for 543 seats, the BJP will win; there’s no doubt about it. They are confused,” he added.</p><p>The minister clarified that the Centre has delinked the census from delimitation to ensure the implementation of women’s reservation and to increase the total number of seats in Parliament.</p><p>Explaining the rationale behind increasing parliamentary seats, he pointed to India’s massive population growth. “When the population was 300-400 million, the number of seats was 544. Now the population is 1.4 billion. That is why delimitation is necessary when we want to increase the number,” he added.</p>
