BJP accused Opposition parties of denying women their rightful representation, while highlighting large participation in the protest and vowing continued political push on the issue.

BJP women MPs and leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, on Saturday staged a protest march near Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s residence in Sunehri Bagh, following the defeat of the women’s quota law amendment.

The protestors gathered at Moti Lal Nehru Marg, torched an effigy of Gandhi and tried to reach his residence when the police used water cannon to disperse them and detained several leaders.

Near the Sunehri Masjid roundabout, BJP state president Virendra Sachdeva, MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Bansuri Swaraj and other leaders were detained and taken to Parliament Street police station, the party state unit in a statement said.

Leaders slam Opposition over bill defeat

The protesters, including BJP women MPs Hema Malini, Manju Sharma, and Vatsalya Gupta, slammed the Opposition parties for the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, accusing them of “humiliating” the women of the country.

The chief minister said that opposition parties collectively stated in Parliament that women should not receive reservations in legislative bodies.

“For the past 30 years, half the population has endured humiliation as the bill has repeatedly been introduced but either torn apart or opposed,” she said and asserted that the women of the country will register their strong response to the injustice done to them.

Mathura MP Hema Malini said Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked hard for the passing of the Bill, but the Opposition parties did not allow it.

“It’s a very sad day for us. It seems the Opposition has no confidence in women’s power and they don’t want them to have their rights,” she said.

Mass participation and political reactions

The party claimed over 10,000 women participated in the March. Union minister Raksha Khadse, MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, too, joined the protest.

Sachdeva said that opposition leaders behaved as a “royal family,” who can not see beyond their own families.

They have worked to deprive the women who are half of the country’s population of their rightful share by preventing the Bill from being passed, he said.

North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari asserted that women will one day get their due rights, if not today, then tomorrow.

Bill defeated in Lok Sabha

The Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha was defeated in the Lower House. While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it.

Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority. The Opposition parties, including Congress, voted against the Bill.

Published on April 18, 2026