Lucknow, April 20: BJP MP Anurag Thakur responded to the collapse of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. He stated that Congress has declared war against half the country’s population. Thakur emphasized that the anti-women stance of Congress, DMK, SP, and TMC has been revealed.
He remarked that this was a golden opportunity to provide reservation for women, which would not only increase their representation but also expand the number of seats in the Lok Sabha. According to the 1971 population, it was determined that there could be 550 seats in the Lok Sabha. With the current population of 1.4 billion, the question arises: should the number of seats increase? Should women receive their rightful share?
Thakur asserted that they were not doing any favor to women by advocating for this bill. He accused Congress of denying rights to Shah Bano and Muslim women. He criticized their past governments for failing to provide basic amenities like toilets and food. He claimed that the Modi government has delivered these essentials, and the opposition fears that granting 33% reservation to women would credit the central government, leaving them empty-handed. However, Prime Minister Modi has made it clear that the credit can be taken by others, but women must receive their 33% reservation.
Thakur noted that Congress had a chance to vote in favor of the bill but regrettably chose to oppose it. He recalled that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had introduced this bill four times, only to see it buried by opposition parties. In 1996, Deve Gowda introduced the bill, which was handed over to the Geeta Mukherjee Committee. From 1998 to 2003, the bill was presented four times but was consistently rejected.
He highlighted that during the UPA era, they openly supported women’s reservation, which passed unanimously in the Rajya Sabha, with only one vote against it. At that time, Sonia Gandhi did not bring the bill to the Lok Sabha, indicating that they have never been advocates for women’s reservation. Today, their anti-women face has been exposed. They had four opportunities to pass the women’s reservation bill but failed to do so.
Thakur stated that dynastic parties like the SP and Congress do not need any form of reservation. Their women can secure seats easily, but ordinary women require reservation, which these parties have denied.
He further noted that in 2010, the SP and RJD resisted, but Congress did not bring the bill. The pressing question remains: why have these parties become anti-women? What excuses are they searching for? Is delimitation necessary for implementing women’s reservation? Is a census required? They claimed that a caste-based census must be conducted, and they have initiated it. They proposed that women’s reservation should be granted by 2029, which is why this bill was introduced. They suggested increasing the number of seats from 550 to 850. When Pakistan-occupied Kashmir becomes part of India, they argued that women there should also receive reservation, which was included in the bill. However, the SP and Congress opposed all these provisions.
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