New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate in the Parliament, women MPs from the Opposition Friday voiced their disagreement over the Centre’s move to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill during the three-day extended Budget session, alleging that both the measures were being “linked” together for the BJP’s “benefit”.
However, they said that they are in favour of implementing the Women’s Reservation Act of 2023.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra noted: “The Women’s Reservation Bill has already been passed. Women of this country are not so naive that an Act which has already been passed is now being linked with something else to increase their (BJP’s) seats by 50 per cent.”
She accused the BJP-led Central government of trying to give more weightage to Hindi-heartland states. “The states which have improved their education and controlled their population are being punished,” she said.
Giving an example, Moitra said: “The share of south Indian states is being reduced from 24 per cent to 20 per cent, and you are trying to link both issues. Delimitation has nothing to do with women’s reservation.”
“You yourself had said that the Women’s Reservation Bill will be after the census and after delimitation. And today you are saying that we will not wait for the (current) census (to complete) and will do so based on the 2011 census,” she alleged.
About the proposal to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats, the Trinamool MP said: “Where are these 850 or 815 figures coming from? Delimitation will decide the number. How can you decide the number?”
“There is no understanding and intellect left in the country,” she said.
Interacting with reporters outside Parliament, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said: “We are opposing the Bills, we will vote against them, and I hope before that they (Centre) will withdraw the Bills. ”
She stated that there is a “lot of confusion” within the proposed Delimitation Bill. “There is no clarity, just assurances on the floor of the House is not enough for any state,” she said.
“The south Indian states will definitely get affected because of this delimitation,” the DMK MP cautioned.
“DMK believes, and we have been repeating time and again, that we do not have any reason to link the Women’s Reservation Bill with the Delimitation Bill,” she added.
However, Karunanidhi said, “We can implement the women’s reservation as it is today. With the same numbers (Lok Sabha strength), we can give 33 per cent to women.”
“What is stopping them (the government)? I don’t understand,” she said.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav also echoed her disagreement.
“The stand of the party is that we are not in favour of amendments to the Constitution. Because, somewhere, with the help of delimitation, these people (BJP) want to use the whole process for their own benefit,” she told reporters.
Dimple Yadav specified that the Samajwadi Party wants the implementation to take place according to the 2023 Women’s Reservation Bill.
“First, a census will be conducted. After that, the process of delimitation will take place. And only after that will women be given their rights through reservation of seats,” she mentioned.
