Page 37 - NIS ENGLISH 1-15 May, 2026

Address to Nation | SPECIAL

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Address to the Nation

“I assure every woman of the country,

we will remove every obstacle in the path of women’s reservation.”

The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was not about taking anything away from anyone, but a grand effort to give
women of the nation their rightful due. It is not only the need of the hour, but also a strong foundation for women’s
leadership to take the nation to new heights in the journey toward a Viksit Bharat. This was not a political move, but
a decision made in the national interest, one that was halted in the Lok Sabha by numbers. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, saddened by politics overshadowing national policy, addressed the nation on April 18, 2026, expressing his
emotional anguish before the country and its women. He also assured that every obstacle in the path of women’s
reservation would be removed. Read the edited excerpts from the address to the nation:

National interest is bigger than party interest: For us,
national interest is paramount, but when for some people
party interest becomes everything, when party interest
becomes bigger than national interest, then women power
and national interest have to bear the consequences. This
time too, the same has happened. The selfish politics of
parties like Congress, DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party have
harmed the women’s power of the country.
Women Do Not Forget Insults: When the proposal
aimed at advancing women’s interests was defeated,
dynastic parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC, and SP were
thumping the tables. What they did was not just thumping
on the tables; it was a blow to the self-respect and dignity
of women. And women forget everything, but they never
forget their insult. Therefore, the sting of the behaviour
displayed by the Congress and its allies in Parliament will
forever linger in the hearts of every woman. 40 years, from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards. The
‘Nari Shakti Vandan’ amendment was a monumental en-
Opposition Insulted the Constitution’s Framers: deavour, a Mahayagya dedicated to providing the women
To those parties that opposed the Nari Shakti Vandan of 21st-century India with new opportunities, enabling
Amendment in Parliament, I will say clearly: these people them to soar to new heights, and clearing the obstacles
are taking women’s power for granted. They are forgetting standing in their path.
that the women of the 21st century are watching every
event in the country, they are sensing their intentions, The ‘Nari Shakti Vandan’ amendment is the demand
and they have fully understood the truth. Therefore, for of the time: The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was an
opposing women’s reservation, the sin committed by the effort to equally increase the strength of every state, north,
opposition will surely bring punishment to them. These south, east, and west. It was an effort to give more strength
parties have also insulted the sentiments of the framers to the voice of every state in Parliament. Whether the state
of the Constitution, and they will not escape the punish- is small or big, whether the population is less or more, it
ment from the people either. was an effort to increase everyone’s strength in equal
proportions. But this honest effort has been subjected to
A Bill to Give, Not to Take: The Nari Shakti Vandan amend- foeticide in Parliament by Congress and its allies. Congress,
ment was not about taking anything away from anyone. TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK—these parties are guilty of
The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was about giving this foeticide. They are criminals against the Constitution of
something to everyone; it was an amendment to give. It was the country; they are criminals against the women’s power
about giving women the right that has been pending for
of the country.

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