Patna, April 19 (IANS) The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) on Sunday announced that it will on April 22 organise protest marches across all party district headquarters across Bihar against what it described as a “reprehensible act” by the Mahagathbandhan parties, who opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha.

This comes as the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday after it failed to get enough votes to pass.

In a statement, the RLM, BJP’s ally in the NDA, said, “On April 22, 2026, activists of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha will organise protest marches across all district headquarters in Bihar against the parties within the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ that opposed the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.”

By voting against the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, the RLM said that the Congress and its allies within the Mahagathbandhan have “effectively blocked half of the country’s population — women — from gaining entry into the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. They have deprived women of the rights and entitlements due to them.”

Sharing this information, RLM State Spokesperson Rampukar Sinha, stated that the party’s National President and Rajya Sabha member, Upendra Kushwaha, has “consistently supported” the constitutional rights and delimitation reforms.

“However, before this campaign could achieve its objective, the Opposition parties stalled it by opposing it in Parliament. Had this Bill been enacted into law, the number of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly constituencies in Bihar would have increased by one-and-a-half times,” Sinha said in a statement.

Furthermore, he said that had the Opposition extended its cooperation in Parliament, women would have secured 33 per cent of the seats, becoming MPs and MLAs.

“However, the MPs belonging to the Mahagathbandhan did not allow this to happen. In protest against this stance adopted by the Opposition in Parliament, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha will organise protest marches across all district headquarters in Bihar on April 22, 2026,” the RLM spokesperson said.

The Bill, which aimed to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, triggering a sharp political confrontation between the ruling NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc.

The proposed legislation, which also sought to expand the strength of the House, could not obtain the constitutionally mandated two-thirds majority despite a day-long debate. The Bill secured 278 votes in favour and 211 against, falling short of the required threshold for passage.

–IANS

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