Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday took a sharp swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the special session on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, delivering a pointed backhanded compliment.

Referring to the government’s political handling of the women’s reservation bill and its messaging, Priyanka remarked, “If Chanakya were alive today, he would still be surprised.”

Her comment underscored the opposition’s criticism of the Centre for linking the implementation of women’s reservation to a future delimitation exercise, which they argue delays the reform despite broad support.

Beyond the satire, the Congress leader argued that the government was presenting “incomplete information” to the public. She questioned why a moral cause like women’s empowerment was being conditioned on the Delimitation Bill, 2026, which the opposition views as a “backdoor” attempt to manipulate the electoral map.

“The Prime Minister talks about freeing himself from ‘sin,’ but if there is no fear of losing seats, why create these hurdles?” she asked. She maintained that linking the 33% quota to a future seat expansion to 850 is an unnecessary complication designed to delay the rollout until 2029, rather than implementing it immediately within the existing 543-seat framework.