Jaipur: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge declared on Saturday that his party would revise the women’s reservation bill if it assumes power at the Center in 2024.
Kharge criticized the Narendra Modi government for delaying the implementation of the bill for a decade, despite the absence of significant legal complications.
During their support for the bill in Parliament, the Congress called for immediate implementation and inclusion of a quota for women from Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Addressing a party rally in Jaipur ahead of the Rajasthan elections, Kharge stated, “When our government comes in 2024, the first thing we will do is make amendments to the bill.”
The Parliament recently passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, which seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. This bill was the first to be discussed and passed in the newly constructed Parliament building.
In his speech, Kharge alleged that former President Ram Nath Kovind was not invited to the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Parliament building because of his caste, referring to him as “untouchable.”
He also noted that President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the inauguration of the new Parliament building, which he deemed an insult to the president’s office.
Kharge questioned the Modi government’s intentions behind introducing the women’s reservation bill, suggesting that the BJP is reluctant to grant women reservation despite not explicitly stating so.
Kharge emphasized that the idea for the bill came about when Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and himself initiated the INDIA bloc, an alliance of several opposition parties.
He criticized the BJP for utilizing a special parliamentary session to showcase the new Parliament building, emphasizing that the parliament’s purpose is to address people’s issues, not for exhibition.
Kharge accused the BJP of previously opposing the women’s reservation bill when the Congress-led government introduced it, only to later portray themselves as champions of the cause.
He asserted that the Congress has a history of respecting women, citing prominent female leaders from the party’s ranks.
Kharge urged the public to protect the Constitution and democracy, warning that failure to do so would result in servitude.
He questioned Prime Minister Modi’s repeated inquiry about the Congress’s achievements over 70 years and claimed that the BJP pits four candidates against the Congress: one from the BJP, one from the Enforcement Directorate, one from the Income Tax Department, and one from the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in Delhi, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate expressed the party’s wholehearted support for the women’s reservation bill and urged the BJP to ensure its prompt implementation. She voiced concern that the promise might become another political slogan.
Shrinate also noted that the wait for women’s reservation might extend until 2039 due to the upcoming census in 2031. She accused the BJP’s women parliamentarians of ignoring crimes against women and claimed that the BJP introduced the bill hastily out of fear of defeat by the opposition INDIA bloc.
