(Image source from: Timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made promises and criticisms toward the opposition, including a remark aimed at the Congress party without specifically naming it, as they demonstrated against three controversial bills presented in Parliament. "We view India as a whole. . . not as separate parts," he stated. Regarding the delimitation bill, which involves changing parliamentary and constituency borders, he assured: "I promise. . . no state will suffer unfair treatment, whether it’s in the east, west, north, or south. " This promise came after ongoing protests from southern states that worry changing constituency lines will lead to losing parliamentary seats (and influence in the central government) to northern states, particularly Hindi-speaking ones like Uttar Pradesh, which are considered strongholds of the BJP. Responding to those who criticized the bill to reserve 33 percent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, which is set to expand by nearly 50 percent, he remarked: "Those who opposed this previously. . . the women of this nation did not forget it, and they faced unfavorable outcomes in the subsequent elections. " "Let’s not overlook this crucial chance to provide reservations for women," he urged, "I ask you to view this not through a political lens, but as something for the nation's benefit. "

He ridiculed opposition parties who had previously claimed he took credit for social initiatives started by earlier administrations, joking: "You can take the credit. I’m happy to provide advertisements with the pictures of whoever. . . handing over a 'blank cheque' to claim the credit for the women’s quota. " He stated that the reservation for female lawmakers was a concept that should have been implemented 25 to 30 years ago. "(If we had) enacted it at that time, we would have developed into a more advanced country today. " A strongly opposing faction has described the suggested changes to constituency boundaries and the increase of Lok Sabha seats as "faulty" - with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge labeling it "an attack on our democracy" - alleging that the women's bill was linked with the other proposals to push it through parliament. The delimitation process has historically caused disputes between the central government and southern states, occasionally emerging as a significant issue, especially before the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu this month. This southern state strongly opposes delimitation, claiming it, alongside neighboring states, will be adversely affected for effectively managing population sizes.

All three bills - with the third proposing to raise the Lok Sabha seats to 850 - were presented in Parliament this afternoon. Two were brought forth by Law Minister Arjun Meghwal.