Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 18 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of passing the delimitation Bill while trying to use the women's reservation as 'camouflage'. He said that the opposition unitedly defeated the 'nefarious design'

Gandhi said that the Centre intended to change the electoral map of India.

'Yesterday in Parliament, they (BJP) proposed a women's Bill. The truth is that they were not trying to pass the Bill, they were trying to use the women's Bill as a camouflage to pass the delimitation Bill. They wanted to change the electoral map of India, reduce the number of seats and the representation that South India, small states and the Northeast get,' Gandhi said while addressing a public rally in Tiruchirappalli.

'I am proud to say that the opposition worked together and defeated this nefarious design,' he added.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha further accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 'selling India to the United States' to protect his image.

'Donald Trump's control of Mr Narendra Modi resulted in the US-India deal, and Narendra Modi sold India to the United States. He sold our farmers, labourers, small and medium businesses, data and our energy security. The reason is that he wanted to protect his own image. America controls the Prime Minister through the Epstein Files,' he said.

Earlier, the Constitution Amendment Bill was not passed in the Lok Sabha since it didn't get a two-thirds majority. The opposition alleged that the Centre intended to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in the guise of women's quota.

The opposition has been labelled as 'anti-women' by the ruling BJP and its alliance partners for voting against the Constitution 131st Amendment Bill that sought to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850.

The amendment bills introduced by the Centre were meant to advance the implementation of women's reservation legislation. It also sought to operationalise the women's reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. (ANI)