He said that in the 29-minute speech, described as an address to the nation, the prime minister criticised Opposition parties for blocking the bill.

By Dharmesh Prajapati

Congress leader KC Venugopal has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker, submitting a privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “casting aspersions” on MPs during his address to the nation.

In a letter to Om Birla, KC Venugopal said, “I hereby give a notice of question of privilege under provisions of Rule 222 of the the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha against the Prime Minister of India for having cast aspersions on Members of Lok Sabha during his address/speech telecast on 18 April, 2026.”

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What did Venugopal’s notice say?

Referring to the events leading up to the address, Venugopal said that on April 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on national television following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha on April 17, which failed to secure the required two-thirds majority under the provisions of Article 368 of the Constitution.

He said that in the 29-minute speech, described as an address to the nation, the prime minister criticised Opposition parties for blocking the bill and made direct references to the voting pattern of Opposition members, attributing motives to them.

“A sitting PM’s address to the nation has always been reserved for the overriding purpose of national unity and confidence-building. The Prime Minister’s unabashed partisan demagoguery during this address – with 59 different attacks on the Congress party – will be yet another permanent stain on his record as Prime Minister,” he added, referring to the Indian National Congress.

The government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which proposed implementing women’s reservation and increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 816 seats, was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.