Betrayal of women’: Bihar CM targets Opposition after women’s quota Bill fails in Lok Sabha

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday strongly criticised Opposition parties for defeating the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, calling it a betrayal of women.

Addressing the media in Patna, the newly-appointed chief minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is committed to the welfare of women across the country, while some parties remain confined to their own families.

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Describing the issue as a major concern pertaining to women’s rights, he questioned the role of the Opposition and alleged that parties such as the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Samajwadi Party (SP) appeared to celebrate the outcome, which he termed unfortunate.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, he said while his sister could become a Member of Parliament (MP), the Congress does not show clear intent when it comes to providing opportunities to other women.

He further alleged that the Congress has historically opposed the interests of weaker sections of society, including Dalits and tribal communities. He asserted that the party has been against reservation since Independence, whereas the BJP has consistently supported reservation for underprivileged sections — citing its backing of the Mandal Commission recommendations and the provision of 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among the general category, excluding SC, ST, and OBC groups.

The Chief Minister added that Bihar already implements 50% reservation for women at the panchayat (local government) level, yet around 59% of women are elected, demonstrating the strength of women’s participation.

He also noted that there are currently 29 women MLAs in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, but the number could rise to 122 if full reservation were implemented. Similarly, he said, the number of women MPs in the Lok Sabha, comprising 543 elected seats, could have increased to 272.

Responding to opposition allegations that the BJP introduced the bill without sufficient numbers for political mileage, Choudhary acknowledged that the party lacked adequate MPs but said it had expected support from the opposition for what he described as a “noble cause.”

On whether the issue would be raised during the West Bengal election campaign, he said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would unite to expose those opposing women’s reservation across the country.

He reiterated that his government is fully committed to ensuring reservation for women.