'U-turn Ustad': Congress slams 'PM Modi's push for special session' to pass women quota law amendments

Party terms it Narendra Modi's 'weapon of mass diversion' to 'change the narrative from his foreign policy failures and setbacks and from the LPG and energy crisis' facing the country

Claiming that the model code of conduct (MCC) has been reduced to “Modi code of campaigning”, the Congress on Wednesday claimed that the government was going ahead with calling a special session of Parliament to pass a law for early implementation of women's quota in the next fortnight to take “full political advantage” in the midst of Assembly elections.

Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “unmatched in unleashing WMDs – weapons of mass diversion” and he is doing the same in a “desperate” bid to “change the narrative from his foreign policy failures and setbacks and from the LPG and energy crisis” facing the country.

“Wanting to take full political advantage of it, he (Modi) has let it be known that a special two-day session will be convened in the next fortnight to pass the amendments necessary to the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023," he said on X while insisting that such a session any day in April “would violate one MCC but will be in keeping with the other”. 

He reminded that the Opposition had written to the government seeking an all-party meeting after the current round of Assembly elections, which would end on April 29, for discussing the proposal. He said the government was also planning to increase the size of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies by 50%, which also needs “careful deliberations”.

“This also calls into serious question the Modi Govt’s real commitment to actually conduct a caste census that it had announced in April 2025 after having accused leaders of the Congress of suffering from an urban naxal mindset for raising this demand in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign,” he said.

He said the Modi government had rejected the Congress’ demand for implementation of 33% women’s quota from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while debating the 2023 Bill, saying this was not possible since both delimitation and the Census had to necessarily be completed first. 

“Now the U-turn Ustad has, after 30 months, suddenly changed his mind and wants to implement the reservations without completing the delimitation and census operations,” Ramesh said.