New Delhi, April 16
Former Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and senior Congress MP Manish Tewari has said, “This is not a Women’s Reservation Bill, this is a Delimitation Bill dressed up as a Women’s Reservation bill and that is the principal objection.”
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Tewari asserted that he is the greatest supporter of women’s reservation. The MP said that supported the 33% reservation for women but strongly opposed the proposed Delimitation Bill, warning that it would harm India’s federal structure. “The government should delink Women’s Reservation Bill from delimitation. They should bring a proposal before the House that out of the existing 543 seats in Parliament, one third, that is 181 seats, should be reserved for women and it should be operationalised by 2029. However, when you link it with the process of delimitation, you run into a complete minefield,” he added.
Tewari argued that the bill was “deleterious, detrimental and destructive” for India’s polity, as it could distort the federal balance.
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal stated that the party president had written to the Prime Minister requesting an all-party meeting on the Women’s Reservation Bill, citing doubts raised by the Opposition. He questioned the Centre, asking, “What will happen if you convene this session ten days after the election? When Tamil Nadu is in an election, you want to pass legislation concerning Tamil Nadu.” Responding to Venugopal’s remarks, BJP MP Kiren Rijiju said, “We requested all the floor leaders of different parties. They came and attended. You should have raised it in the meeting. Why didn’t you attend the meeting?”
