Jaipur, Apr 18 (PTI) Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissolve the Lok Sabha and seek a fresh mandate from people if he was confident that women across the country would “teach a lesson” to opposition parties for voting against the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lower House.
Reacting sharply to the prime minister’s address to the nation on Saturday evening, the senior Congress leader said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that women across the country would give a strong response and teach a lesson to the Congress and other opposition parties. If he is so confident about this, he should dissolve the Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections, and seek a new mandate from the people.” He also criticised the proposed delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census, saying it would deny rightful representation to OBC women.
“Carrying out delimitation based on the 2011 Census instead of waiting for the 2026 caste census would deny the rights of OBC women. After the 2026 caste census, the actual population of OBCs would be known, which could ensure proper reservation for them as well,” he said.
Gehlot said delivering such an address while elections are in progress in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu amounts to a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
“Since the Election Commission has effectively become the BJP’s election department, no action will be taken,” he claimed. PTI SDA ARB ARB
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