HYDERABAD: A day after the delimitation-linked women’s reservation bill failed to get two-thirds of the votes in Lok Sabha, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday demanded the NDA government to immediately bring a law reserving 33% of the existing Parliament and Assembly seats across India for women.
Demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi prove his sincerity on women’s quota, the chief minister proposed drafting a new legislation for women’s quota and presenting it before Parliament by Monday.
Recalling that Home Minister Amit Shah had claimed the Centre could modify the bill if granted just one hour, Revanth said: “The bill should ensure that one-third of the current 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, as well as one-third of the seats in Legislative Assemblies, are reserved for women.
If such a bill were introduced, the INDIA bloc would extend its support to it as in 2023. The bill could be passed on Monday and the legislation implemented starting Tuesday itself.”
Revanth: Dialogue essential to build consensus on delimitation
Noting that the Election Commission of India has already collected 2011 Census data and other relevant information, the chief minister pointed out that a delimitation exercise was conducted in 2009 and, based on those figures, it is possible to implement 33% reservation for women by August 15, 2026. With these reservations in place, the policy could be implemented in the 2027 elections in Uttar Pradesh, from where the prime minister was elected, he added.
He also suggested that the Union government conduct an all-party meeting and receive suggestions from all stakeholders on the delimitation of seats in all Assemblies.
The chief minister opposed the delimitation of constituencies on a pro rata basis and asserted that the number of seats in Legislative Assemblies could be increased in consultation with the respective states. The delimitation proposal introduced by the BJP would politically undermine the southern states, northeastern states and smaller states, he added.
A Revanth Reddy also announced that he was ready to take the initiative of holding discussions with the chief ministers of the southern states — M K Stalin, Pinarayi Vijayan, Siddaramaiah, N Chandrababu Naidu and N Rangasamy — and garner their support for the women’s bill. He stressed that the 2023 women’s reservation bill should be implemented with a minor modification and challenged the BJP and Narendra Modi to prove their sincerity.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, he alleged that the BJP is conspiring to abolish reservations if it secures a two-thirds majority, citing the party’s slogan of ‘Abki baar, char sau paar’ (400-seat this time) to amend the Constitution against quotas for all sections during the 2024 general elections. He said the BJP’s attempt to amend the Constitution and abolish reservations under the guise of bills concerning women’s reservation, constituency delimitation and the expansion of constituencies was defeated.
He said: “The failure to pass the bills was not merely a defeat for the ruling party at the Centre, but also a reflection of the BJP’s lack of sincerity. The Constitutional Amendment Bill failed precisely because Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacked genuine commitment.” He challenged Modi to demonstrate his sincerity and to draft the bills in a proper manner. The BJP suffered a defeat in Parliament because of Modi’s arrogance, Revanth charged.
He also lashed out at Modi, stating that he has repeatedly displayed animosity towards Telangana by describing the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh as “killing the mother to save the child”. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s comments were uncalled for, he said.
The chief minister also criticised Union Minister Kishan Reddy and MP K Laxman, alleging that they are attempting to get Modi’s attention to secure promotions rather than paying heed to public opinion. He further questioned Kishan’s approach and why the latter did not offer an alternative solution instead of resorting to counter-attacks.