New Delhi: A light-hearted moment amid the intense debate on women's quota law and delimitation in the Parliament caught everyone’s eye. Priyanka Gandhi took a jibe at Home Minister Amit Shah, widely known as ‘Chanakya’ for his political shrewdness, and said that the three bills are being pushed in a manner that it would benefit the BJP. 

“Has rahe hai…grah mantri ji has rahe hai…(he is laughing…the home minister is laughing),” she said, laughing herself. Amit Shah could be seen laughing too. “Puri yojana bana rakhi hai. Chanakya agar aaj zinda hote, toh woh bhi chaunk jate aapki rajnaitik kutilta pe (He has made this full scheme. Had Chankaya been alive, he would have been startled by your political shrewdness),” laughed Gandhi, and the house erupted in laughter too. 

She was participating in a Lok Sabha debate on the three bills introduced for amendments to women’s quota and delimitation commission. "On the one hand there is this big talk of women's reservation, and on the other hand, the rights of OBCs are being taken away. A strong structure for their party is being erected for the next polls by reducing the influence of small states, shredding democracy to pieces," Priyanka Gandhi alleged.

Priyanka Gandhi criticised the government for planning a session of Parliament during elections without holding an all-party meeting. She said the draft bill was shared only a day before the session, limiting the opposition's chance to discuss it. 

Gandhi highlighted the contrast between the government's push for women's reservation and its alleged neglect of the OBC community. She stressed the need for decisions to be made in the national interest rather than for political gains. She also criticised Prime Minister Modi for presenting the BJP as the only supporter of women's reservation, saying women can easily see when they are being misled.

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She recalled that the Congress party fully supported the Women's Reservation Bill when it was passed in 2023, aligning with its core values. Gandhi reaffirmed Congress's strong support for women's reservation.

Gandhi referred to Motilal Nehru's 1928 report to the Congress Working Committee, which included 19 fundamental rights. She mentioned the 1931 Karachi session chaired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, where a resolution for equal rights for women was passed. She noted that the principle of 'One Vote, One Citizen, One Value' was implemented, granting women the right to vote from the first day of Independence, unlike countries such as the United States, where women had to wait 150 years for this right.

Published on: Apr 17, 2026 11:18 AM IST