Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader from Odisha Saptagiri Ulaka Monday questioned the delay in notifying the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam despite the Bill being passed in Parliament in 2023.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, the Koraput MP said, “Apart from two MPs, all other members supported the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament in 2023.”
However, it took nearly three years for the BJP government to notify the Bill, he said.
“After we asked about the bill to the Union Law Minister, the notification was hurriedly issued April 16. Though we had demanded enforcement of 33 per cent women reservation in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Union government rejected it,” he said.
Ulaka said this reflected the seriousness of the Modi government towards women’s reservation in legislatures.
The Koraput MP also questioned the motive behind convening a special session of Parliament to discuss a new bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures from 2029, along with an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, at a time when elections were underway in several states.
He pointed out that under the proposed delimitation exercise, the number of seats in southern states would decline as they had performed well in population control.
Accusing the BJP government of spreading propaganda in the name of women’s empowerment, Ulka said, “In fact, the Congress has always given priority to women’s empowerment by electing women candidates as president, prime minister, governors, and chief ministers.”
He also alleged that the BJP is trying to hoodwink the women of the state through its propaganda, but could not succeed.
Ulka’s remarks came after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement a 33 per cent reservation for women in the legislatures from 2029, with an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, was defeated in the lower House Friday.
PTI