Women were used as vote bank: BJP’s Sadhvi Pragya takes swipe at Oppn after passage of women’s reservation Bill in LS

New Delhi [India], September 21 : Hailing the landmark passage of the women's reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur said the long-awaited draft legislation has brought much joy for women. 
The Bhopal MP alleged that some parties during previous governments at the Centre, under the prime ministership of HD Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh, merely used women as a vote bank.
"This long-awaited Bill cleared the legislative hurdle in the Lok Sabha today and is on course to becoming a law. However, some parties did not want this Bill passed. From the time of Deve Gowda-ji as PM to Manmohan Singh-ji, they worked against the passage of a draft legislation guaranteeing better representation of women in legislative bodies. They wanted to use women merely as a vote bank. They were never of the belief that women should be accorded their legislative rights," the BJP MP said.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, was passed after a reply to a motion by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The Bill was passed, with 454 members voting in favour of the legislation and two against it on the motion for the passage moved by Meghwal. The amendments moved by opposition members were negatived and there was also voting on clauses of the Bill.
Speaker Om Birla announced that the Bill had been passed.
The 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' is the first Bill passed by Lok Sabha after it shifted to the new Parliament building on Tuesday.
The Bill was passed by a majority of the total membership of the  House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the House “present and voting”
The division was carried out through the distribution of slips.
Meghwal said “history” was being made with the passage of the Bill.
Rejecting the opposition’s criticism about the delay in the implementation of provisions of the Bill, Meghwal said that the Bill ensures transparency. It was passed after a day-long debate which was initiated by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.    
Intervening in the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah also rejected the opposition’s contention and said the bill will follow due procedure and seats which are to be reserved will be decided by the Delimitation Commission.
Several opposition members including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that caste census and delimitation are not required for implementing the Women’s Reservation Bill and it should come into force soon after it is passed by Parliament.
"There is one thing in my view that makes this bill incomplete. I would like to have seen the OBC reservation included in this bill," Gandhi said.
"Delimitation and census is not required, the Bill should be immediately implemented," the Congress leader added.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 is expected to be taken up by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.  
The Rajya Sabha had earlier passed the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2010 during the Congress-led UPA government but it was not taken up in the Lok Sabha and subsequently lapsed in the lower House of Parliament.
The government introduced the new Bill on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the government’s intention to bring 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'.
Sources said the division was carried out through slips as information regarding division numbers in the New House is awaited from some parties in the Lok Sabha.
The Special Session of Parliament began on Monday and will continue till Friday.