New Delhi, April 17:Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, after making a cryptic “number 16” jibe at the BJP-led government during his Lok Sabha speech last Friday on three new bills, remained tight-lipped when questioned about its meaning. Referring to it as "a puzzle," Gandhi refused to disclose any further details, saying, “It is a puzzle, I won’t tell the answer just like that. If I find the solution, I’ll tell you that’s it.”
The remark came towards the end of his speech, where he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had failed to effectively engage with the House during his address about the bills. “I was watching the Prime Minister speak yesterday. It was low-energy, nothing transmitted, no engagement. Clearly, trying to pass this bill was a mistake because everyone knew... I checked my phone and saw it was the 16th of April. I thought, my God, how crazy! That’s the number: Sixteen. The whole answer to the riddle is in the number 16. Everything is in the number 16... The answer to your problems is going to come very soon, and it’s in number 16,” Gandhi remarked, leaving many wondering about the meaning behind his statement.
BJP members raised objections to Gandhi’s comments, prompting further tension. The Congress leader also took the opportunity to criticize the government's position on the Delimitation Bill, one of the key legislations linked to women’s reservation in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi called it "nothing to do with the empowerment of women," labeling it an "attempt to alter the electoral map of India."
“The first truth is that this is not a women’s bill. It has nothing to do with empowering women. It’s a shameful attempt to change the electoral map of India,” he asserted. He accused the government of attempting to bypass the caste census, which he claimed would undermine representation for OBCs in Parliament and state assemblies.
“They are trying to ensure that the caste census is ignored for political representation. By doing this, they can delay the real representation of my OBC brothers and sisters by another decade,” Gandhi concluded.
