NEW DELHI: A day after the historic defeat of amendments to the women’s quota bill in Parliament, the opposition INDIA bloc decided to push for the immediate rollout of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, within the existing framework of the 543-member Lok Sabha, while also seeking to counter the BJP’s narrative to portray the Opposition in a negative light.
At a meeting chaired by the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Saturday, top leaders of the alliance agreed that each constituent party would independently push for the implementation of the Act, while also continuing to raise the issue in public to hold the BJP accountable.
The meeting was also attended by CPP leader Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, and CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar, among others.
It was decided that parties in the INDIA bloc will hold press conferences across the country and stress that they support women’s reservation, adding Parliament had already passed the bill in 2023. By introducing three new bills, they said the government was trying to change the political map of the country under its guise.
At a press conference after the meeting, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi underlined that the Opposition was not against reservation for women and would support the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, if the government sought to implement it on the current strength of the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to clarify when the government will implement the Act. “For the PM, it was a face-palm moment after he failed in pushing through a Constitutional amendment,” said Tagore.
While there were suggestions among the parties to hold a joint press conference of the INDIA bloc or write a joint letter to the PM demanding implementation of quota for women in the existing framework immediately, leaders said the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal may pose a hurdle for such joint action.
“INDIA bloc parties will continue with the coordination on this issue, and we are confident that we will be able to do it adequately. A joint letter to the PM may be prepared soon,” said a leader.
