‘PM and I don’t have wife issues’: Rahul Gandhi’s swipe amid women’s reservation debate

New Delhi: Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that both the Prime Minister and him do not have “wife issues”. The remark drew laughter from the Members of Parliament during the extended Budget session.

LoP Gandhi made the remark during a debate in the Lok Sabha, a day after Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill, 2026.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also introduced the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

He said, “Women are a central force, a driving force in our national imagination, our national perspective. Every single person in this room have been influenced and also learnt a lot from women in their lives.”

“Mothers, sisters, wives, as (Kiren) Rijiju said, of course the Prime Minister and I don’t have wife issues, so we don’t get that input but we have our mothers and our sisters,” the LoP joked.

Rahul Gandhi’s reaction followed after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju made a reference to Law Minister Meghwal, who had recited a poem dedicated to his wife on Thursday while speaking on the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Rijiju jokingly said, “We got scolded yesterday because of this that if the Law Minister can recite a poem for his wife, why can’t you all. I, personally, got a scolding yesterday.”

Meanwhile, praising sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, LoP Rahul Gandhi said, “Yesterday I saw my sister achieve something in five minutes that I have not been able to do in 20 years of my political career.”

As the MPs again broke out in laughter, LoP Gandhi said that the feat was to “make Union Home Minister Amit Shah smile”.

Regarding the three contentious Bills, Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of “pushing its agenda” under the garb of the Women’s Reservation Bill and claiming that this was merely a ‘façade’ unrelated to women’s reservation.

“This is not a Women’s Reservation Bill, and it has nothing to do with women’s empowerment. This is an attempt to change India’s electoral map under the guise of women’s rights. The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023. Bring back the old Bill, and we’ll support it,” the LoP said.

IANS