New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday hailed the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, saying “no one can touch Tamil Nadu” as the government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.
The controversial bill, linked to the implementation of one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, was defeated after receiving 298 votes in favour and 230 against — short of the constitutional threshold needed for passage.
The Centre needed a two-thirds majority to get the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed, but fell short of the mark.
Reacting after the vote, Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of attempting to push through delimitation measures under the cover of women’s reservation. He said the people of India had recognised the move and stopped it, while also asserting that Tamil Nadu and the Tamil language could not be undermined.
He was addressing a public meeting in Ponneri on Friday as part of his campaign for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. Gandhi framed the electoral battle as both ideological and political, centered on federalism, social justice, and the protection of Tamil identity.
“I was not born in Tamil Nadu. My family is not from here. Yet I feel attached to the soil of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
“When I see them (BJP) attacking Tamil language and Tamil culture, I feel as if I am Tamil. In my mind, I ask – How dare they attack the language and culture of Tamil Nadu?” he added.
The proposed legislation had triggered sharp opposition from several parties, particularly those from southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which feared that a population-based redrawing of constituencies could reduce their political representation in Parliament.
The ruling BJP defended the bill, arguing that delimitation was a constitutional necessity and that women’s reservation should be implemented through a revised seat structure. However, opposition parties maintained that the government was using gender justice as a pretext for electoral restructuring.
“Yesterday they came with a new Bill. They said they were bringing a Women’s reservation Bill but that had already been passed. It was being brought in the name of delimitation. The idea was to reduce Tamil Nadu’s representation in the Union of India, to weaken southern States, small States and the North Eastern States,” he said, as quoted by NDTV.
