Shimla, Apr 18 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday demanded the Centre should delink the rights of women from the complexities of census and delimitation.
“If the intention is truly to empower the 50 percent of our population, why wait for a map to be redrawn? Implementation should be immediate, unconditional and fair to all regions of India,” the public works minister told reporters here.
Speaking of the structural flaws and alleged political motives behind the stalemate of the Women’s Reservation Bill, he said, “We cannot allow the daughters of India to be used as a shield for a project aimed at regional disenfranchisement.” Singh demanded sincerity from the Union in implementing the 33 per cent quota within the existing 543 seats immediately for the 2029 general election.
The Congress’s legacy is inseparable from the struggle for women’s political equity, he asserted.
According to a statement, the Congress’s commitment has always been immediate and actionable, spanning from the grassroots revolution for the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments to the historic passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
In contrast, the current NDA framework is a master class in obfuscation, the minister alleged.
“By tethering women’s rights to the completion of a census and a subsequent Delimitation exercise, the government has ensured that no woman will see this reservation realised for at least another decade,” he said.
“This is not empowerment. It is an indefinite postponement of justice,” he added.
The core of our objection lies in the weaponisation of “delimitation,” he said.
Singh said that increasing Lok Sabha seats to over 800 under the guise of women’s reservation is a calculated attempt to fundamentally alter the demography of Indian constituencies and North-South Divide.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of seats of the Lok Sabha was defeated on Friday in the Lok Sabha.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 general election, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. PTI BPL VN VN
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