Congress lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the women’s reservation issue to prepare ground for the 2029 general elections and questioned the government’s intent to link the women’s quota law with delimitation and the rush to push the proposed delimitation on the basis of 2011 census.
Taking part in a debate in the Lok Sabha on three bills introduced for amendments in the women’s reservation law and setting up a delimitation commission, Priyanka Gandhi claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “cannot be trusted” and asserted that a caste census is important as women from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) also need to be given their due.
“As long as the caste enumeration doesn’t happen, all sections of the society will not get proper representation. This government wants to move ahead with the 2011 census because it doesn’t have an OBC population count,” the Wayanad MP said. “By making the 2011 Census the basis for delimitation, Prime Minister Modi is attempting to snatch the rights of the OBC community. However, the Congress party will never allow this to happen.”
Priyanka Gandhi further claimed that despite the “hollow assurances” by the PM and other ministers, “it is certain that the representation of smaller states would be altered.” On Thursday, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that Lok Sabha seats of all states will be increased by 50%, proportional to the rise in total number of seats of the House.
She also claimed that if the bill brought by the government is passed, democracy in India would cease to exist.
Challenging PM Modi to roll out the 33% women’s reservation on the current 543 seats of the Lok Sabha, she said people cannot depend on the PM today as he is engulfed by problems. “He is under international pressure. He has turned the women’s reservation into a weak alibi to stay in power. He wants to create a Parliament where not only there will be no scope of debates but OBCs and equality will also be missing. Why can’t you give women reservation from these 543 seats? You can give reservation to women within SC, ST,” she added.
Taking a dig at home minister Shah, the Congress MP said that had Chanakya been alive today, he would have been startled by the senior BJP leader’s “rajnaitik kutilta (political shrewdness)”.
“On the one hand there is this big talk of women’s reservation, and on the other hand, the rights of OBCs are being taken away. A strong structure is being erected for the next polls by reducing the influence of small states, shredding democracy to pieces,” Priyanka Gandhi alleged.
“The home minister is laughing… He has made this full scheme. Had Chankaya been alive, he would have been startled by your rajnaitik kutilta. He (Shah) made the whole plan, and he is laughing now… He agrees with me,” she said.
The first-time MP claimed the plan involved “calling a session during elections, without any all-party meeting, circulating bills just one day before the session so that the Opposition can’t get time to study it and start debate in media that Modi is going to take a big step for women’s empowerment, and everyone should support this rising above politics. And by doing this, you put the Opposition in a bind.”
She further said that after hearing PM Modi’s speech, it appeared as though the BJP is the sole champion of women’s reservation. “Any woman will tell you that women can instantly identify men who repeatedly try to mislead them,” she added.