Lucknow | Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi on Sunday said that April 17 will be known as a 'black day' as opposition parties denied women their rights by not letting the women's quota bill pass in Parliament.
Accusing the Opposition of keeping things "hanging", she took a veiled dig at the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, referring to them as 'yuvraj' (crown prince).
"They want that this reservation remain confined strictly within their own family, so that they may reserve seats for their own kin... They do not wish that the people of the general category or our sisters residing in remote and backward regions get these rights." A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the UP BJP office in Lucknow, Devi said, "April 17 of the 21st century will be known as a black day. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after 2014, work has been done to economically and socially empower women. And, now it was the turn to politically empower them." She added that the women of the country were looking towards the session that they would get the rights, which they were deprived of.
"But, the ugly and anti-women mindset, which is a part of the habit of the INDI alliance, 'latkana' (keep hanging), 'bhatkana' (diverting) and 'atkana' (getting stuck) any good work was once again proved on April 17 during voting on the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. They not only voted against the bill, they broke the hearts of half of the population, they broke their expectations and aspirations," she said.
"The Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and the DMK always wanted that women do not get their rights. When the numbers came up in the House, they were celebrating. In other words, they did not want women to get their rights. Women have now woken up, and they will give a reply to the Congress, SP, DMK and the TMC in the future," the Union minister said.
Intensifying her attack on Gandhi, the Union minister said, "It is the habit of the Congress that they want to keep everything hanging in terms of 'ifs' and 'buts'. They discussed about OBC. Through you, I would like to ask Rahul Gandhi that when you got the opportunity to lead the country for over 50 years, at that time who had stopped you from giving the OBCs their rights? "When the country has rejected the Congress, they are concerned about the OBCs, that without the OBCs they (Congress) will not come to power, and today, they are speaking about the OBCs." "Who suppressed the Mandal Commission report regarding the OBCs for years? It is the ugly mindset of the Congress that they obstructed the OBCs from getting their rights. It was under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the OBC Commission was finally accorded the constitutional status," she said.
Accusing the SP of practising the policy of appeasement, she said, "You have observed that the leader of the Samajwadi Party speaks for reservation for Muslim women. However, nowhere does our Constitution discuss reservation on the basis of religion.
"We are people who revere the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, people who worship the Constitution and live by its principles. Therefore, it was precisely to fulfil his vision -- a vision that emerged during the discussions on women's reservation in the Constituent Assembly. This reservation was implemented by the NDA, under the leadership of our honourable prime minister." In a major setback to the government, a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated on Friday, with the ruling dispensation asserting that the struggle to give the rights to women will continue.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
This was for the first time that a Bill under the Modi government was defeated in Parliament.