DEHRADUN: Political temperature soared in the Uttarakhand capital on Thursday as the Congress party staged a strong protest outside the state Legislative Assembly, demanding the immediate implementation of the 33 per cent women’s reservation quota and alleging that its linkage to delimitation was a “fraud”.
Party leaders alleged that the ruling BJP government is actively obstructing the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2023, by creating unnecessary hurdles.
Addressing the gathering, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched a scathing attack on the saffron party, labelling the government’s stance as a "planned conspiracy."
"The government should stop its web of deceit. We all know the BJP never intended to give 33 per cent reservation to women. While the bill was passed in 2023 under intense public pressure, the government chose to sit on it. Now, as pressure mounts again, they have deceptively linked the reservation bill to the delimitation process," Rawat stated.
Rawat argued that linking the reservation mandate to delimitation, a process where national consensus is still pending, was a deliberate attempt to derail the legislation.
"When the bill was already passed unanimously in Parliament, attaching the condition of delimitation was a fraud. The BJP is directly responsible for failing to make this a reality," he added.
The protest also saw a strong critique from state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal, who claimed that the government’s recent decision to call a one day special session of the Legislative Assembly is merely a distraction tactic allegedly aimed at scapegoating the Congress.
"The BJP is trying to corner the Congress because we are the only ones genuinely standing for women's rights. They are creating obstacles and then trying to shift the blame onto us," Godiyal alleged.
He reminded the administration of the Congress party's historical commitment to gender representation. "It was during the Congress tenure that reservation was introduced for women in local bodies and panchayats. The 2023 Bill was passed only due to the support of the Congress. The BJP is simply spreading a narrative of lies across the country," the state president asserted.