Raipur, Apr 19 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday alleged the Congress adopted a “divide and rule” policy to block the passage of the constitutional amendment bill on women’s reservation, terming it “betrayal” of 70 crore women and a “grave sin”.
A united opposition on Friday defeated the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislative bodies in 2029 and increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with 230 MPs voting against its passage.
Addressing a press conference at the state BJP office, Sai said the Congress failed to support efforts to enact women’s reservation into law whenever the opportunity came.
He said the Congress has been following the British policy of ‘divide and rule’ and merely talking about women’s reservation for the past three decades.
“However, whenever the time comes to take meaningful action and enact legislation, Congress members turn their backs. The Congress has once again displayed the same character,” alleged Sai.
He said the Constitutional Amendment Bill, introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was intended to pave the way for a 33 per cent reservation for our mothers and sisters in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
However, the Congress, driven by “dynastic politics and vote-bank considerations” betrayed 70 crore women across the country by opposing the bill, Sai said, adding that the party and its allies have obstructed the path of women’s political empowerment.
“The Congress and the INDI bloc will have to face the consequences of this grave sin of denying half the population their rightful leadership opportunities. Women in Chhattisgarh and across the country would respond strongly,” the chief minister said.
He cited “widespread enthusiasm” among women ahead of the recent Parliament session, with many expressing their gratitude to PM Modi for the proposed legislation. However, the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK and Samajwadi Party prevented the bill from being passed.
Sai further alleged that issues such as delimitation, religion-based reservation and regional divisions were deliberately raised by the Opposition to stall the passage of the women’s reservation bill.
Sai also highlighted initiatives taken by the BJP governments at the Centre and Chhattisgarh for women’s welfare, including financial assistance schemes and reservations in local bodies.
He said more than 70 lakh women in Chhattisgarh are benefiting from schemes such as the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, which aim to promote financial independence.
Sai pointed out that women were given 50 per cent reservation in panchayat bodies under the erstwhile Raman Singh government of the BJP.
BJP national general secretary Arun Singh also criticised the Congress for its “negative” and “anti-women” stand, saying April 17 would be remembered as a “black chapter” due to the opposition’s role in blocking the constitutional amendment bill.
He added that women across the country would not forget this “insult” and would respond accordingly in the future. PTI TKP NSK
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