NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday criticised the Opposition for allegedly obstructing the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying the continued delay undermines women’s political empowerment. Addressing a press conference, she said it was unfortunate that even after 78 years of Independence, women still struggle for adequate representation in Parliament and state assemblies.
Gupta said the Central government had expected all political parties to come together in support of the bill, but the Opposition failed to cooperate and raised what she termed baseless objections. She noted that the legislation has been introduced multiple times over the past three decades but has been stalled repeatedly on one pretext or another.
Referring to the 2023 version of the bill, she said it clearly provides that reservation for women will be implemented after delimitation, and opposing this provision now is contradictory. Responding to the Opposition’s demand for 33 per cent reservation within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, she questioned which male MPs would be willing to vacate their constituencies.
Calling the Centre’s proposal a “win-win” solution, Gupta said increasing the total number of seats would allow reservation for women without affecting sitting members while maintaining representation of states. She emphasised that the number of Lok Sabha seats has remained unchanged since 1971 despite a sharp rise in population.
She also rejected the demand for a “quota within quota,” calling it an excuse to delay the bill further. Referring to PM Narendra Modi, she said he had even offered the Opposition credit for passing the legislation, but they refused to support it.
Yogi slams Opposition language during bill debate
Taking a dig at Opposition parties of the INDIA alliance over their conduct in the House during the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill debate, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said their behaviour was “like the disrobing of Draupadi,” referring to the language used during discussion.