Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed the number 16 holds heavy meaning in PM Narendra Modi's plans to bring in delimitation — an increase and change in Lok Sabha seats — by bundling it with an amendment to the 33% women's quota law passed in 2023.
Rahul said that, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking in the Lok Sabha on his government's plan to this effect, “I was sitting here and watching. He had low energy. He was not able to engage."
He said he then noticed the date was April 16. Harping on the number, the Congress MP said, “Clearly, trying to pass this bill (constitutional amendment) was a mistake. Everybody knew."
Modi was not present when Rahul spoke. The Congress MP also said the answer to “your problems” — pointing towards the treasury benches — is “in the number 16".
One mathematical fact that he could be referring to is that the BJP does not have majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha on its own since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has 240 MPs, and its key allies include the JD(U) of Nitish Kumar from Bihar with 12 MPs, plus Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP's 16 from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
