Bhubaneswar, April 19: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi targeted opposition parties led by Congress on Sunday, accusing them of blocking the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that aims to provide reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. He asserted that the women of the country will respond through their votes.
During a press conference, Chief Minister Majhi labeled April 17 as a “black day” in the history of Indian democracy, claiming that the opposition thwarted the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.
He stated, “April 17 was a black day in Indian democracy because on this day, the Congress-led opposition shattered the dreams of millions of women in the country by rejecting the 131st Amendment Bill. Not only that, they celebrated its defeat with smiles as if it were a festival.”
Majhi emphasized that this setback is not a defeat for women but rather a reflection of the arrogance and misguided thinking of opposition parties. He expressed confidence that the women of the nation will respond to this betrayal at the ballot box.
He compared the opposition’s celebration following the defeat of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act to the Congress’s jubilation during the imposition of the Emergency on June 25, 1975.
The Chief Minister accused opposition parties of limiting their discussions on women’s empowerment to mere slogans, often appearing insincere. He remarked that when it comes to granting real rights to women, their actions contradict their words.
Majhi also criticized Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for opposing the Act despite being women themselves.
Present at the press conference, BJP leader and MP Bansuri Swaraj stated that the Prime Minister wanted the women’s reservation to be implemented quickly to have an impact in the upcoming elections. However, she claimed that the opposition betrayed the women of the country by blocking it.
She targeted the Trinamool Congress, noting that despite having a female Chief Minister like Mamata Banerjee, the party failed to support the bill when it was needed.
Addressing allegations regarding the delimitation bill, she mentioned that the government proposed to work based on the 2011 census to avoid delays and suggested increasing the number of seats by up to 50% to ensure fair representation for all states.
She clarified that implementing women’s reservation without delimitation is not feasible, as determining seats based on the current population is essential.
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