Anurag Thakur accuses Congress of playing politics over women's reservation
Oct 01, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 1 : Pointing out that previous Congress governments at the Centre could not pass the Women's Reservation Bill, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday accused the party of doing politics over the Bill and questioned its intentions.
"Sometimes, they (Congress) talk about destroying Sanatan Dharma, and sometimes about caste equations. Because they do not have a leader or a policy, and their intentions are flawed," Anurag Thakur said.
"Women's Reservation Bill was pending for 27 years but Congress could not get it passed...Yet they want to do politics over it," he added.
Though the Women's Reservation Bill has been passed in both houses of parliament, the implementation of its provisions will come into place after the next census and a delimitation based on the data of the census.
This relatively long time frame caused criticism from the Opposition who wanted the Bill's implementation sooner.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Bill in the first sitting of the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building, during the Special Session that was convened recently. The Bill was named Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
Introducing the Bill in the House, the minister said, "This bill is in relation to women empowerment. By amending Article 239AA of the Constitution, 33 percent of seats will be reserved for women in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. Article 330A reservations of seats for SC/ST in the House of People."
The 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' was the first Bill passed by Lok Sabha after it shifted to the new Parliament building.
On September 21 , the Parliament passed the historic draft legislation, with the Rajya Sabha clearing it unanimously.
A total of 214 members in the Upper House, voted in support of the Bill and none voted against it. The members welcomed the passing of the Bill by thumping their desks.
