Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday replied to the debate on the Women's Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha and said no one has objected to the women's reservation but all members of the INDI alliance have opposed it by using 'ifs and but'. "No one has objected to the women's reservation. But, if we see closely, all members of the INDI alliance have opposed it by using 'ifs and but' ", Amit Shah said.
All states and UTs have equal rights in Parliament
"The country should not be divided by this ‘north-south’ 'east-west' narrative. We should rise above it. All states and UTs have equal rights in this parliament," says Amit Shah as he targets the Opposition.
Amit Shah said those opposing delimitation are actually opposing an increase in SC/ST seats. Amit Shah said, "Our focus is not on the intent, but on the method of implementation. However, through this House, I want to clearly state before the people of the country that this opposition is not about implementation. This opposition is solely and purely against women’s reservation... when I say this, it becomes my responsibility to convince the House that the opposition is not to the method, but to the very essence of the Bill, the provision of reservation for women.”
Clarifying the purpose of these three Bills, he said the first purpose is that the Constitution, which empowers women, should be implemented in a timely manner..., and that the 2029 elections should be held with women’s reservation in place.
Modi Cabinet decides to hold caste census along with 2026 census
Amit Shah said, "To make sure that there is confusion in the mind of 140 crore Indians, I want to make it clear that the Narendra Modi Cabinet had decided to hold caste census along with 2026 census."
What happens if Centre implements women's reservation based on 543 seats?
Saying that if Centre implements women's reservation based on 543 seats, he said 13 seats will get reserved for women, and 26 will remain open in Tamil Nadu. "If we implement women's reservation based on 543 seats, then 13 seats will get reserved for women, and 26 will remain open in Tamil Nadu. If we implement women's reservation based on the 2011 census, then the number of parliamentary seats will reduce by 6. But we are not doing so. We are increasing seats by 50% for every state...,” he said.
Amit Shah further added that nearly 133 members spoke in the House on this important constitution Amendment Bill, out of which 56 Members were women, which will prove to be a record in itself.
No one will be at a loss, Amit Shah assures
Amit Shah said that Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Keralam - the strength of these five states in the 543 parliamentary seats is currently 129, which is 23.76%. “After a 50% increase, when we allocate the seats for these five states, it will rise from 129 to 195, which will represent 23.87% in 816 seats. No one will be at a loss,” he said.
Amit Shah said if the reason to oppose this bill is that there should be 50% reservation, then halt the proceedings for an hour, and he will bring an official amendment to this bill, but first they (opposition) need to promise to pass the bill.
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