Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday led the opposition charge and uproar over the tabling of the Women’s Reservation Bill. During his speech in the lower house, he repeatedly referred to the “number 16” in a cryptic manner, without clearly explaining its meaning.Amid frequent interruptions from the ruling side, Rahul ended his address invoking “number 16.”He said, “Yesterday I was watching the Prime Minister speak. Low energy, disconnected, nothing was coming through. Then I noticed it was the 16th of April.”He continued, “It felt like there was panic while pushing this bill. I looked at my phone and saw the date — 16. And I thought, this is the number. The whole answer to the riddle is in the number 16. Everything is in the number 16. Now if anybody understands what I am saying, please, send me a message.”After Rahul’s speech, the official handle of Congress on X also posted, “Puzzle for all of you: Yesterday, the Prime Minister was low on energy. Suddenly, I noticed it was the 16th of April. My God, how crazy! The number: Sixteen (Sixteen sounds a lot like Epstein, doesn’t it?)”Earlier during his speech, Rahul Gandhi referred to PM Modi as a “magician,” which drew a sharp reaction from Rajnath Singh and Om Birla.“Magician of Operation Sindoor, Balakot has been caught,” said Rahul, adding, “Everybody knows there is a partnership between the magician and the businessman.Rahul had also said, “There is a central confusion in the minds of the people of the BJP. You aren’t the people of India or the armed forces. Stop hiding like cowards behind the armed forces and the people of India.”The remarks were made during a debate on the women’s reservation bill and its linkage with delimitation. Rahul Gandhi argued that the Bill was less about improving women’s representation and more about political restructuring through the redrawing of constituencies.He claimed that the proposed delimitation exercise could reshape the electoral map in a way that benefits the ruling BJP while weakening existing social justice frameworks. According to him, the move could reduce the political influence of backward communities and marginalised groups.Opposition parties have also raised concerns that linking the implementation of women’s reservation with delimitation may have broader implications for federal balance, regional representation and caste-based political participation.
