Bhubaneswar, April 20 (NationPress) The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has openly condemned the BJP-led Union Government regarding the execution of the Women's Reservation Bill, claiming there have been significant delays and deliberate spread of misinformation on this matter.

During a press conference, Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka expressed his concerns, recalling his presence in the Lok Sabha when the Bill was first presented. He remarked that the government's intentions appeared dubious from the very beginning.

Ulaka pointed out that the Bill was passed in 2023 with overwhelming support, with only two dissenting votes, and subsequently became law. However, he criticized the delay in issuing the Gazette notification, which was only made public on April 16, 2026. He questioned why it took the Union government three lengthy years to release this notification.

He emphasized that the Congress party had sought immediate implementation starting in 2024, aiming to reserve 181 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats for women, alongside provisions for SC, ST, and OBC communities.

Moreover, he highlighted that the government had convened a special Parliament session during elections, linking the implementation to the 2026 Census and delimitation, proposing reserved seats in a larger assembly of 850 members.

Ulaka further alleged that this delimitation process could potentially diminish representation for southern states based on population, thereby limiting seat distribution in regions like Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, where the BJP lacks electoral support.

He accused the BJP government of disseminating misinformation under the guise of women's reservation and asserted that the Congress has a longstanding history of advocating for women's empowerment—from the roles of President and Prime Minister to Governors, Chief Ministers, and Panchayat leaders.

Ulaka also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that in a recent 29-minute national address, he mentioned Congress 59 times and the TMC 10 times, which he interpreted as a sign of the PM's distress and vulnerability.

He questioned whether the Election Commission had acknowledged such statements amid the ongoing elections and criticized the Prime Minister for his silence on critical issues, such as the situation in Manipur.

“PM Modi is unsettled as he faces his first defeat in 12 years of governance. If he truly intends to provide reserved seats for women, he should allocate 181 of the existing 543 seats, and we, the opposition, stand ready to offer unconditional support. The decline of Modi has commenced. The women of this nation are not naive,” Ulaka stated.

Furthermore, he announced plans to organize nationwide protests against the BJP government's anti-women policies and misinformation campaign, led by Priyanka Gandhi, with the participation of women MPs and grassroots activists.