LUCKNOW, April 21 -- Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai alleged on Monday that the Centre made a devious attempt to link women's reservation with delimitation, claiming that the Congress party has always been dedicated to safeguarding women's interests. "The entire opposition saw through this ploy and decisively defeated this manoeuvre. This marks a victory for our democratic system, federal structure and Constitution," he claimed while addressing a press conference here. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026 - the Centre's proposed amendment to the 2023 women's reservation law - was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17 after failing to secure the two-thirds majority. "The Women's Reservation Bill was passed into a law in 2023. What stopped the PM from implementing the law for 30 months? In 2023, the Congress party had urged for its prompt implementation. However, citing provisions within the bill regarding the census and delimitation, the Centre did not implement it at that time," Rai said. "Our ideology is shaped by the foundations laid by the heroes of our freedom struggle. We empowered 'Nari Shakti' (women's power) by appointing Annie Besant as the first woman president of the Indian National Congress. Subsequently, we elevated Sucheta Kripalani as the first woman CM after independence, Indira Gandhi as the country's first woman PM and Meira Kumar as the first woman Lok Sabha Speaker," the UP Congress chief said....