Chandigarh, April 20 -- The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday traded barbs over the women's reservation issue. This comes two days after a Constitution amendment bill, to implement 33% reservation for women in legislatures and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 by 2029, was defeated in the Lok Sabha. Addressing a press conference at the BJP's state office in Sector 33, Union minister of state for defence, Sanjay Seth, said the legislation was a "historic step" aimed at ensuring 33% reservation for women in legislatures. He alleged that the Opposition opposed the move due to "narrow political interests" and fear of losing entrenched political space. "On one hand, the Opposition claims to support women's empowerment, while on the other, it resists granting real rights," he said. Senior BJP leader Kiran Choudhry also criticised the Congress, claiming that despite decades in power, it failed to ensure meaningful political participation for women. Referring to past attempts to pass the women's reservation Bill, she alleged that it was often introduced without intent to secure its passage. The Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee, meanwhile, accused the BJP of misleading the public on women's reservation and demanded its immediate implementation without conditions. Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Gandhi Congress Bhawan in Sector 35, Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky alleged the BJP was linking the women's quota with conditions such as delimitation and an increase in Lok Sabha seats as part of a political strategy. "If the BJP's intentions are clear, it should implement women's reservation immediately on the basis of existing seats, without any conditions," Lucky said. Highlighting the Congress party's track record, Lucky cited leaders such as Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil and Meira Kumar as milestones in women's leadership, asserting that the Congress had consistently worked towards women's empowerment. Mahila Congress president Nandita Hooda said the party would launch a mass outreach campaign to counter what she termed as BJP's "false narrative"....