Lucknow, Apr 26 (PTI) Congress general secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande on Sunday said the BJP should provide reservation to women in Lok Sabha right away and asked it not to engage in ‘dikhaava’ (pretence).
He assured his party’s full support for the immediate implementation of women’s quota.
Pande, along with other Congress leaders, participated in a seminar titled ‘Women’s Reservation Act: Respect or Deception?’ organised by the Uttar Pradesh Congress’ Vichar Vibhag.
Pande said, “Women are entitled to equal rights. From the very beginning, the Congress party has worked towards bringing women into the mainstream.” Citing the example of Indira Gandhi, he said, “Making Indira Gandhi the country’s first female prime minister was a monumental step towards women’s empowerment. The BJP is talking about reservation today, but there are questions about their intentions. The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 with the support of the Congress, yet the BJP is failing to implement it.
“The BJP should provide reservation to women in the Lok Sabha immediately. They have our complete support, but they must not engage in mere posturing. The public knows the truth.” Congress state president Ajay Rai said, “We move forward by treating everyone with respect, and we will fight for the rights of women.” Questioning how a man who fails to treat his own wife with respect be expected to respect the women of the nation, Rai said BJP MLAs had accorded a welcome to the party’s office-bearers who were accused of raping a female student at BHU (Banaras Hindu University).
He alleged, “They (BJP) are making a mockery of the very concept of respect for women.” Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’, the leader of the Congress legislature party in the state assembly, said the Congress has consistently worked towards the upliftment of women.
She recalled that it was former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who introduced reservation for women in the Panchayats — a move that was opposed by BJP leaders at the time.
She asked, “Will the BJP appoint a woman as the next prime minister or as its national president? The Congress, after all, appointed both Indira (Gandhi) ji and Sonia (Gandhi) ji as its party presidents. Will the Uttar Pradesh government send a proposal to the Centre advocating for 33 per cent reservation? If they do, we will extend our full support.” Speaking as the keynote speaker at the seminar, Rooprekha Verma, former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, said, “We do not seek rights merely parallel to men; rather, we seek rights that are shared and integrated. If the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023, why was its implementation deferred until 2029? Since the Bill was cleared in 2023; why was it not enacted into law immediately? This was a cruel mockery of women.” Verma asserted that there is a need for reservation in society because discrimination against a girl begins even before she is born; this “mindset must be changed”.
The Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on April 17.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. 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 NAV PRK
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