Mumbai, Apr 15 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has appealed to MPs from the state to participate in the special Parliament session aimed at clearing the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ bills to ensure early implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act.
The Congress has called the Centre’s move a “calculated strategy” at a time when elections are underway in five states.
In a letter written earlier this week to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, and presidents of political parties from the state, the CM said the passage of the bills would be a historic moment, according to sources.
He urged all MPs to be present in Parliament to support the bills, keeping with Maharashtra’s tradition of backing women’s empowerment. The CM said the state has already ensured a 50 per cent quota for women in local bodies, according to the sources.
The government is moving towards an early implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, for which a special session of Parliament will be convened from April 16 to 18 Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the last published census.
According to a draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced in Parliament, seats would also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
State Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe accused the BJP of using the bill as a “political ploy” to push delimitation ahead of key elections, and questioned the timing and intent behind the move.
Londhe said that if the BJP was genuinely committed to women’s reservation, it should have implemented the law from 2024, when it was passed in 2023, as demanded by the Congress.
He alleged that with elections underway in five states and the West Bengal polls approaching, the Centre convened a special session to advance delimitation under the guise of ‘Nari Vandan’, calling it a “calculated strategy”.
“The government had earlier said that the women’s reservation would be implemented after the Census. Now, suddenly, delimitation is being brought in its name, which shows that delimitation is the real issue,” Londhe said.
Referring to the Delimitation Act, 2002, he said it mandates the constitution of a Delimitation Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, but claimed that the Election Commission has now been involved in the process in a manner favourable to the ruling party.
The Congress leader alleged that the move could adversely impact the reservation of Other Backward Classes, Dalits and Adivasis.
He also flagged concerns raised by southern states, stating that if population is the sole criterion for delimitation, their political representation would decline. PTI MR NR
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