Opposition leaders have hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the women's quota bill, calling it 'partisan' and 'dramebaazi'. Congress's Jairam Ramesh said the PM's address was meant to be non-partisan but turned out to be a 'pathetic partisan and polemical attack'. Ramesh questioned the PM's intentions, saying his 'niyat is anything but saaf' and that he has conducted himself in a 'shameless, deceitful' manner. TMC MP Mahua Moitra also attacked the PM, saying his address was 'dramebaazi' and that he should implement the women's reservation bill instead of just talking about it. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge counted how many times the Congress was mentioned in the PM's speech, arriving at 59, and said it shows the PM's priorities.
The PM had said opposition parties had 'mercilessly crushed' the dreams of women by not allowing the women's reservation bill to pass in Parliament. He accused the Congress and other parties of taking women's power for granted and said they would be punished for opposing the bill. The PM also accused the Congress of pursuing divisive politics and spreading falsehoods about a North-South divide.
