The opposition party also maintained that what was rejected in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was not the women’s reservation bill, but the issue of delimitation.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate highlighted that the women’s reservation bill was unanimously passed by Parliament on September 21, 2023, and has become part of the Constitution.
”The women’s reservation bill was not defeated; it was the delimitation that the government was attempting to impose on the nation,” she stated at a press conference. ”PM Modi is expressing crocodile tears and is hiding behind the women’s reservation bill,” she added.
Also Read: Modi pushes for early rollout of Women’s Reservation Bill, says decades of delay must end
Shrinate presented a cartoon depicting the PM with a basket of 543 mangoes, refusing to give women a 33% share, claiming he could only do so if he increased the total to 850, which the opposition purportedly obstructs.
In response to the PM’s comments on the rejection of the Constitution amendment bill, the Congress leader reiterated her party’s position that if he genuinely cared, he should provide immediate reservation for women based on the current strength of the Lok Sabha, which has 543 members.
”You have placed a condition on that. Remove it. You are the ones creating obstacles to women’s reservation; you want to appease men and avoid reducing their seats,” she criticized the government.
Referring to Modi’s apology to women, Shrinate asserted that the PM was correct to apologize for the treatment of women during events in Manipur, Hathras, and Unnao, and for the glorification of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. ”You were right. Women won’t forget their insults. Who understands this better than you?” she remarked.
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Only 31 out of 240 MPs are women, representing just 12%. Additionally, of the 1,654 legislators nationwide, there are merely 164 women, which is less than 10%. She highlighted that there is only one woman among the 21 BJP chief ministers. Shrinate pointed out that five BJP lawmakers are currently facing rape charges.
She also noted that the Congress first introduced women’s reservation in 1989 under the late Rajiv Gandhi, which was opposed by BJP stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Jaswant Singh, and Ram Jethmalani.
On delimitation, the Congress spokesperson challenged the PM’s assertion of a 50% proportional increase in Lok Sabha seats, stating that such a claim was absent in the draft bill. She mentioned that even with a 50% increase, the overall representation of the southern states would decrease from its current level.
Shrinate criticized the BJP for its protests regarding the women’s reservation bill, quipping that it’s beneficial for the ruling party’s leaders to go door to door, where they will be held accountable by women for their hardships under BJP governance.
Also Read: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin accuses PM Modi of ‘trampling states’, warns against delimitation push
A significant setback for the government occurred when the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to provide 33% reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.
While 298 members supported the Bill, 230 MPs opposed it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill needed 352 votes to achieve a two-thirds majority.
The Bill proposed increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 to ”operationalise” the women’s reservation law ahead of the 2029 parliamentary elections, following a delimitation process based on the 2011 Census. It also aimed to expand the seats in state assemblies and Union territories to accommodate 33% reservation for women.
