Shimla, April 19: Vikramaditya Singh, a minister in the Himachal Pradesh government, criticized the central government for the failure of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament. He stated that the government’s intentions behind the bill were not genuine.
In a conversation in Shimla, Singh remarked that the bill presented in the house was not a law but merely a proposal. Although it was labeled the ‘Women’s Reservation Bill,’ it did not genuinely aim to provide reservation for women. Instead, it was an attempt to alter the country’s demographics and a failed effort to manipulate parliamentary constituencies for political gain.
Citing historical context, Singh pointed out that the Indira Gandhi government had frozen the 1971 census in 1976 for 25 years. This decision was made because some states were performing better in population control, education, and family planning, while others were lagging. It was deemed unfair for states that were managing population reduction to suffer consequences.
He also noted that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had similarly frozen the census in 2002 for another 25 years, which would last until the end of 2026. The Congress party has clearly stated that if the bill had been presented in its original form in 2023, it would have passed unanimously and without controversy.
Singh accused the government of having ulterior motives, suggesting that the bill was introduced under the guise of supporting women, particularly during the assembly elections in three major states. He described it as merely a political maneuver.
He emphasized that if the bill had been implemented based on the current 545 seats, it would have passed immediately. However, the proposal aimed to increase the number of seats to 850, with approximately 200 additional seats for men and only 180 for women, effectively reducing women’s reservation.
The minister asserted that the Congress party fully supports women’s reservation but insists it should be introduced with genuine intent and proper methodology. He stated that the government’s deceitful tactics were fully exposed in the Lok Sabha yesterday.
Singh praised opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Shashi Tharoor for effectively raising this issue. He also noted that this was the first time during Modi’s tenure that a bill introduced by the government failed to secure a two-thirds majority and was not passed.
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