Mumbai, April 15: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Wednesday that amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill are essential for timely implementation. He noted that delays in the census have disrupted the delimitation schedule.
CM Fadnavis stated that the census process faced delays, which could have postponed women’s reservation until 2034 or even 2039. He emphasized that without political will, the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could have been used as an excuse to indefinitely postpone the bill. He made these remarks during a discussion on the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ at an event.
He confirmed that the delimitation process would be completed within a year, utilizing data from the 2011 census to avoid waiting for the current census results. Consequently, women’s reservation will be implemented starting from the 2029 general elections and will not be delayed further.
Fadnavis accused some opposition parties of claiming to support the reservation law while opposing delimitation. “They say they are not against the Women’s Reservation Bill but against delimitation. They know that if delimitation is not implemented, women’s reservation cannot be enforced either. Such individuals are essentially opposing women’s representation,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister expressed confidence that these changes would significantly increase women’s representation in Parliament and state assemblies. He added that the impact of the reservation policy would be evident from the 2029 general elections. “While the reservation bill provides for a 33% quota, remember that nearly 40% of the members in the next Lok Sabha will be women. Their voices will gain even more strength,” he concluded.
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