Chandigarh, Apr 19 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday slammed the Congress and its allies for voting against the bill to amend the women’s quota law in the Lok Sabha.
Saini likened their actions to the “cheerharan” (disrobing) of women’s empowerment.
“In the parliament, which is the temple of democracy, what was the attitude of the opposition? The Congress party did the action of “cheerharan” of women empowerment,” Saini alleged while speaking to reporters in Rohtak.
West Delhi MP, Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Haryana BJP president, Mohan Lal Badoli, were also present.
Further attacking the opposition, Saini said no matter how many attempts the present-day Duryodhana and Dushasana (characters from the epic Mahabharata) may make to stop women’s reservation, the Narendra Modi government remains committed to giving women their rights.
He said that what happened in Parliament was not only undemocratic but also exposed the true face of Congress and its allies.
Saini said the real face of Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party and other opposition parties has been unmasked before the people of the country.
He alleged that these parties have once again demonstrated their anti-women mindset and political opportunism when it comes to granting rights to women.
The chief minister said that it was a historic opportunity to ensure constitutional rights for women, but the Opposition sacrificed it for narrow political interests.
“I want to ask Congress and Rahul Gandhi that the party which ruled the country for 55 years should tell what steps they took for the empowerment of women?” Saini asked.
“The true face of the opposition is now visible to every woman in the country. They are driven solely by power politics and have no real concern for women’s rights,” he said.
“In the name of the delimitation, opposition has tried to spread lies and confusion,” he further said.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a bold decision to delink reservation from the Census condition so that women could get 33 per cent reservation in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections itself.
He further said that misinformation was spread in the name of delimitation, claiming certain states would be disadvantaged.
However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah clarified in Parliament that no state’s representation would be reduced and that seat increases would be balanced.
Despite this, Opposition leaders continued to mislead the public, Saini added.
The chief minister said that when India’s population was 54 crore in 1971, Lok Sabha seats were fixed at 550, whereas today the population has reached around 140 crore. Therefore, increasing the number of seats to 850 is necessary for fair representation.
He clarified that the Centre’s model proposes a uniform 50 per cent increase in seats across states, ensuring no region suffers any loss. For example, the current share of South Indian states is 23.76 per cent, which would increase to 23.87 per cent under this new model.
Saini said that historically, Congress politics has been driven by delay and obstruction, and has opposed several key reforms, including the Triple Talaq law, abrogation of Article 370, discussions on Uniform Civil Code, One Nation One Election, electoral roll purification, Waqf reforms and the Citizenship Amendment Act.
He warned the opposition that women of the country would not forgive attempts to politicise their rights and said that from villages to cities, women are already leading across sectors.
He asserted that women will respond strongly through their votes in the future.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday, with the ruling dispensation asserting that the struggle to give the rights to women will continue.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in the Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women. PTI SUN HIG HIG
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