The defeat of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, is an embarrassment for the government, a reminder of the potential of a united Opposition, and most importantly, a reprieve for a proper conversation over the Constitution.

The introduction of the Bill had all the hallmarks of the BJP’s governing style. This was yet another attempt to further a sense of what this column had described as a permanent revolution. The governing style of permanent revolution is to destroy the power of all countervailing institutions, break all restraints, and consolidate executive power. The manner of introducing this Bill signified this. A far-reaching constitutional Amendment, which would have deep implications for all constitutional bodies, the power of the Rajya Sabha, the constitutional status of the delimitation process, the transformation of federalism, and the character of the Lok Sabha, was introduced in a throwaway manner. It duplicitously linked delimitation and women’s reservation. The second feature of the permanent revolution is wresting personal ownership and credit for issues on which there is a wider political consensus. The one constant feature of Narendra Modi’s career as Prime Minister is that he has politically weaponised the issues of gender and sought to claim the moral and political high ground on those issues. In some areas of welfare and legal reform, these have yielded dividends. But these have also been accompanied by the normalisation of misogyny........

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