Bhopal, Apr 17 (PTI) The Samajwadi Party (SP) slammed the BJP over the women’s quota bill, which was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
In a video statement, SP national spokesperson Yash Bhartiya said his party fully supports women’s reservation and has consistently backed women’s empowerment.
“But we want quota within quota. Akhilesh Yadav has already made the party’s stance crystal clear. We support women’s reservation before the bill was tabled. Our party’s ideology draws from leaders such as Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan, focusing on social justice,” Bhartiya said.
The manner in which the BJP seeks to implement women’s reservation aims to push oppressed, deprived and marginalised sections of society further behind, he said, adding the ruling party is working to widen the deep divide in society.
“The SP had earlier opposed the proposal on the grounds that OBCs, backward classes and minorities should receive their due representation, which BJP governments have not supported,” he said.
He that when former deputy prime minister L K Advani introduced a women’s reservation proposal in the Parliament on July 13, 1998, the SP maintained its stand on social justice.
He termed the BJP “anti-women” and questioned why no woman has been appointed as a state president or to key positions by the party across 28 states and eight Union territories.
“Only a caste census would provide clarity on data and ensure fair representation for both women and men based on their population and participation,” he asserted.
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 Lower House.
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 Constitution Amendment 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 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. PTI LAL BNM
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