Soon after the meeting of the Opposition, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the Opposition parties are not against women's reservation, but oppose the way government is bringing bills. He said it is politically motivated.
We all are in favour of the Women's Reservation Bill: Kharge
Following the INDIA bloc meeting, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge says, "We all are in favour of the Women's Reservation Bill. But the way in which they have brought it, we have reservations about that. It is politically motivated. Just to suppress the Opposition parties, the govt is doing this. Though we have supported the Women's Reservation Bill continuously, we insist that the earlier amendments be implemented. They are playing some tricks over delimitation. We all parties should unitedly should fight in Parliament. We will oppose this bill, but we are not against the reservation (for women). The way in which they have put in the bill, be it delimitation, they have not even cleared the census. All powers of the Constitution are being taken by the executive. Mostly, the power which can be exercised by the institutions, the parliament they have given is so that they can change delimitation at any time...They have already deceived us in Assam and J&K."
He said, “We are not against women's reservation, but oppose the way government bringing bills; it is politically motivated," and added that all are united and have decided to oppose delimitation bill. “We are united, have decided to oppose delimitation bill,” Kharge said after meeting of Opposition parties. INDIA bloc leaders met at the residence of Kharge in Delhi over Women's Reservation Bill and parliamentary seat expansion.
Congress unequivocally supports Women’s Reservation: Rahul
Rahul Gandhi said, “Congress party unequivocally supports Women’s Reservation. Parliament unanimously passed the bill in 2023, it is already part of our Constitution. What the government is proposing now has nothing to do with women’s reservation. This amendment is an attempted power grab using delimitation and gerrymandering. We will not allow ‘Hissa Chori’ from OBC, Dalit and Adivasi communities by ignoring the caste census data. We will also not allow Southern, North Eastern, North Western and smaller states to be treated unfairly.”
Meeting was attended by host of Opposition leaders
The meeting was attended by Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and KC Venugopal; DMK leader TR Baalu; Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Sanjay Yadav; Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasahab Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut; Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and JKNC leader Omar Abdullah; and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) MP Supriya Sule; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmad; Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh; Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Sanatan Pandey and Ramashankar Rajbhar; Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Derek O'Brien and Sagarika Ghosh; Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Nilotpal Basu; Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders Annie Raja and P Santhosh Kumar; Indian Union Muslim League's (IUML) ET Muhammed Basheer; Kerala Congress Mani's Jose K. Mani; and others.
With the three-day special sitting of Parliament on the constitution amendment bill related to the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls set to begin on Thursday, a meeting of opposition parties was held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The opposition parties discussed their stand on the proposed amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and the government's move on delimitation. Ahead of the meeting, the Opposition leaders said that there are three distinct issues - women's reservation, national delimitation and increase in seats in Lok Sabha - and these are being "deliberately mixed up" by the government to create confusion in the minds of people.
No party is opposing women's reservation in Parliament: Rijiju
With opposition parties expressing strong reservations to the proposed delimitation bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he is not going into the politics of which party is saying what.
"No party is opposing the women's reservation in the Parliament and Assemblies. When we passed this Nari Shakti Adhiniyam in the last Lok Sabha, no political party opposed it. So, in principle and in spirit, every body is together. In Nari Shakti Vandan dhiniyam, every party is together," he said.
"There may be some statements for political purpose, but the primary objective of providing reservations to women in the Parliament of India and the Assemblies of the states, no political party will oppose it. PM Modi has expressed its gratitude to all political parties for coming together in the national interest. Because women's reservation cannot be a political issue," he added.
Rijiju said it will be "extremely painful" if there is delay in women's reservation process."We have waited for 40 years, we can't afford to wait for another year or another decade. It will be extremely painful if we further delay women's reservation process," he said.
Ahead of the three-day special sitting of Parliament beginning April 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday again pitched for implementing 33 per cent quota for women from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, calling it the "sentiment of the nation" and the "desire of Nari Shakti."
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