PM Modi Address Today LIVE Updates: Nation awaits Modi's message post defeat of Constitution Amendment bill

PM Modi Address Today LIVE Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation tonight.

“The Prime Minister will address the nation at 8.30 PM (April 18, Saturday),” an official said earlier in the day.

His address comes a day after the bill to implement women's reservation – the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill – in legislatures failed to pass the Lok Sabha.

What happened so far?

— The bill needed a two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha, which is approximately 360 votes, to get passed in the lower house of Parliament. However, only 298 MPs voted in favour of the bill, and 230 MPs voted against it.

— Referring to how the Bill failed to get the required number of votes, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the BJP government had lost the trust of the public. “It’s a Black Day for them (Centre) because they’ve felt a shock for the first time, which they deserved,” she said.

— on Saturday, Delhi Police detained several BJP women MPs protesting against the failure of the bill. Among those detained were Raksha Khadse, Bansuri Swaraj and Kamaljeet Sehrawat.

What the Bill proposed?

Under the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased up to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

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