Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday used "magician" jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during debate in Lok Sabha on bills to implement women's quota from 2029 general elections, with his remarks drawing strong objections from the treasury benches and disapproval from Speaker Om Birla, who said there is need to stick to parliamentary decorum. In his remarks, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, slammed the government over the Delimitation Bill and termed the government's move concerning three bills an "anti-national act".
"The magician of Balakot, demonetization, Sindoor has been suddenly caught...everybody knows there is a partnership between the magician and the businessman," he said, drawing strong protests from the treasury benches. Rahul Gandhi started narrating an anecdote about a magician before using it to target the Prime Minister.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the word cannot be used against any minister. He also objected to his remarks relating to Operation Sindoor and the Balakot strike. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also condemned Rahul Gandhi's remarks and said it is an insult to the people of the country. Amid interruptions, Gandhi continued his attack on the BJP. "There is a central confusion in the minds of the people of the BJP. You aren't the people of India or the armed forces. Stop hiding like cowards behind the armed forces and the people of India," he said. "What you (BJP) are doing, because you are scared of what is happening in the politics of the country, you are scared of the erosion of your strength, and you are trying to rejig the Indian political map. You did it in Assam, J&K, and now imagining you can do it in India. You need a constitutional amendment to do that," he added. Rahul Gandhi referred to Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks yesterday that the government will conduct a caste census. "Manuvad over Samvidhaan...Amit Shah ji says that the caste census has begun. He repeated twice, trying to be clever, saying that houses don't have caste. The point is whether or not the caste census is going to be used in representation in Parliament & State Assemblies. And now, what you are trying to do is that caste census has nothing to do with representation for the next 15 years," the Congress leader said.
"It is a historical fact that how Indian society treated Dalits and OBCs and their women...What is being attempted here is a bypass of the caste census. Here, they are trying to avoid giving power and representation to my OBC brothers and sisters and taking power from them," he added. The Congress leader began his speech with an anecdote about how his grandmother, Indira Gandhi, taught him to fight fear. Rahul Gandhi said he feared darkness as a child and his grandmother briefly took him to their garden at night and later addressed his fear. "My grandma told me that I want you to be able to see in the dark like the central idea of Shiva. I asked why? Because real strength hides in the dark," he said. The Congress leader slammed the government over the Delimitation Bill, which is among the legislations to implement women's reservation from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, and said it has "nothing to do with the empowerment of women" and is an "attempt to change the electoral map of India." "The first truth is that this is not a women's bill. This has nothing to do with the empowerment of women. This is an attempt to change the electoral map of India. Actually, it is a shameful act," he said. "What is being attempted here is a bypass of the caste census. What they are trying to do is they are trying to avoid giving power, giving representation to my OBC brothers and sisters, and take away from them...the point is not that, but the point is that whether the caste census is going to be used for representation in Parliament, Vidhan Sabha. What you are trying to do is to make sure that the caste census has nothing to do with representation. So that you can kick the ball down by 10 years," he added.
Rahul Gandhi said the opposition will not allow the three bills to be passed and said the government should implement the Nari Shakti Act without delay. "Giving the women's reservation, which is easy to do, and every Opposition member will pass it...bring that old bill back right now, we will help you pass it with implementation this second. That is the women's bill, this is something else. The truth needs to be told about what this is," he said. He accused the BJP-led Central government of trying to "rejig the entire political map of India" in an attempt to remain in power. "Second thing being done, equally bad and dangerous is that because you are scared of what is happening in the politics of this country, you are scared of the erosion of your strength. You are scared of the erosion of your strength. You are trying to rejig the Indian political map. You have done it in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and you are trying to imagine you can do it for the rest of India," Gandhi said. Lok Sabha on Friday resumed discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. The discussion began yesterday afternoon and continued late in night till 1.25 am.