Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the special session of the Odisha Assembly convened by the state’s BJP government to discuss women’s participation in politics April 30, Opposition BJD Sunday demanded immediate implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adiniyam Bill passed in 2023.
The BJD, which had fully supported the Bill in 2023, made such a demand at a press conference addressed by party MP Sulata Deo and senior general secretary Lekhashree Samantasinghar.
“Although the Women’s Reservation Bill, introduced as the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, 2023, was passed in both Houses of Parliament and received the President’s assent, the BJP did not implement it in the 2024 elections. Now, by falsely alleging that the Bill could not be passed due to lack of cooperation from the opposition, the BJP is staging drama across the country in the name of public outrage rallies,” Deo told reporters.
She said that the act was passed in 2023 to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies.
Deo said that everyone expected it to be implemented immediately in the 2024 general elections. However, the BJP-led NDA government did not implement it. Then, it was stated by the BJP that after the 2026 Census, delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies would be carried out based on the census, and then the reservation would be implemented, she said.
“However, during elections in five states, a sudden special session of Parliament was convened to pass delimitation based on the 2011 Census, along with women’s reservation. Since the proposed delimitation would reduce representation of states like Odisha and other southern and eastern states, opposition parties did not support it,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
She alleged that after the Bill failed, the BJP is now labelling opposition parties as “anti-women” and creating political drama.
“The people of the country have clearly understood this falsehood. BJP, which has been delaying justice for women, is now attempting to project itself as a pro-women party,” she said.
Samantasinghar stated that after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023, the BJP avoided implementing it in the 2024 elections through excuses. Moreover, the BJP did not give adequate priority to women candidates in the 2024 general elections, she alleged.
Samantsinghar said that under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, BJD fielded women candidates in 33 per cent of Parliamentary constituencies in the state. Similarly, in the 2019 elections, BJD had also fielded women candidates in 33 per cent of seats, she said.
“This clearly shows that BJD is at the forefront in the implementation of women’s reservation and empowerment. The process of reserving constitutional positions for women in the country was initiated by the legendary leader Biju Patnaik. In 1992, during his tenure as chief minister of Odisha, he introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system and Urban Local Bodies. His son, former chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, later increased this reservation to 50 per cent,” she said.
Asserting that BJD was all along advocating for women’s reservation, the party leaders said that in 2018, the Odisha Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies. A senior BJD delegation also met leaders of 22 political parties across the country to garner support for this cause, they said.
“Undoubtedly, Biju Janata Dal and its president Naveen Patnaik have played a leading role in advancing women’s reservation. However, the BJP is attempting to mislead the people of the state and the country through false propaganda. In reality, the BJP is anti-women, and women do not receive justice within the party,” the party said in a statement.
