Day after the Modi government faced its first legislative setback since coming to power in 2014 as the constitutional amendment bill failed to clear the test of Lok Sabha, the opposition questioned the Centre over its move and wondered why can't it provide 33 per cent reservation to women on the current 543 seats in the lower House.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s former Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the government must reserve 180 of the current 543 seats in Lok Sabha for women for the next general elections which will be held in 2029. Providing an option B, Chaturvedi said the government could also delink women's reservation from census and delimitation.
"My question to BJP: Since you claim to champion nari shakti and its implementation in 2029, will you’ll voluntarily identify 180 seats of the 543 and reserve it for women as a political party in the next election cycle? Will you ask your alliance partners to do so too?" she said. "OR OPTION B: Will you go back to the 106th Constitution Amendment and delink census /delimitation mandate via a new amendment in the monsoon session and bring the act into force from the next election cycle? If answer to all of the above is no, then might as well drop the pretence."
Other opposition leaders, including Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal, have echoed a similar opinion. The opposition had alleged that the government's move on delimitation under the guise of women's reservation was aimed at suppressing southern and northeastern states. Though it had repeatedly stated that it is not against women's reservation and it should be done on the current strength of 543 seats in the lower House.
"The opposition will write to PM Modi demanding the implementation of the old Women's Reservation Bill. Parties in the INDIA alliance will hold press conferences across the country to state that they support women's reservation, but the 'government was trying to change the political map of the country under its guise'," news agency ANI quoted sources as saying.
Modi government's first legislative setback
The voting on the constitutional amendment bill was held on Friday after the government called a three-day special sitting of the Parliament. The bill failed to clear the Lok Sabha after 298 members voted in its favour, while 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
The bill was to increase Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 general elections after delimitation. This was the first legislative failure for the Modi government since 2014. After the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2023, failed, the government said it has no intention to move ahead with the two other bills, the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, as they were interlinked with it.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the opposition for the bill's failure and said they were celebrating their 'victory' which was condemnable and an insult to the women. "The opposition will have to face the wrath of women not only in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, but at every level, in every election, and at every place," he said.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also hit out at the opposition, saying they have lost a chance to honour the women of India. Taking a swipe at Congress, Rijiju said the grand old party is 'anti-women'. "We will not take rest till we ensure that the country's women get reservation in legislatures," he said.
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