The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in a heated exchange over the women's reservation issue in Chandigarh, following the defeat of a Constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha that sought to reserve 33% of seats for women in legislatures and increase Lok Sabha seats to 816 by 2029. Union minister of state for defence, Sanjay Seth, called the bill a 'historic step' and accused the Opposition of opposing it due to political self-interest. BJP leader Kiran Choudhry criticized Congress for its failure to enhance women's political participation despite its long tenure in power. In response, Congress leaders, including HS Lucky, claimed the BJP was misleading the public by attaching conditions to the women's quota, such as delimitation and seat increases. Lucky emphasized that the BJP should implement women's reservation based on existing seats without conditions. The Congress party plans to launch a mass outreach campaign to combat what it describes as the BJP's 'false narrative' regarding women's empowerment.