Women’s Reservation Bill to fool women, Govt intention something else: AAP, Cong.

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday dubbed the Women's Reservation Bill tabled by the government in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, as 'Mahila Bewakoof Banao' Bill, stating that it was a bill to befool women ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said this was another 'jumla' (translates to clever or misleading statement) brought by the BJP.

The Union government on Tuesday introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Parliament and state legislative assemblies for women, reviving a Bill pending for 27 years for want of consensus among parties.

Making it the first Bill to be introduced in the new Parliament building, the government said it will enable greater participation of women in policy-making at the State and national levels and help achieve the goal of making India a developed country by 2047.

The Bill has been named ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’.

"This is definitely not a Women's Reservation Bill, this is 'Mahila Bewakoof Banao' Bill. We have been saying this because none of the promises made by them have been fulfilled ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. If you want to implement the Bill, AAP stands with you completely but implement it in 2024. Do you think the women of the country are fools?" AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told the media.

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Singh also said that the women will not be able to get a reservation if the conditions like delimitation and Census will be enforced.

"If the Narendra Modi-led government is interested in doing good for women and if their intentions are pure, then they should amend the bill a bit, remove the time limit, and implement it in 2024. What is the point of bringing a bill that will probably be passed in 20–25 years. How will the women get a reservation when you enforce conditions like delimitation and census," Singh said.

Congress too dubbed the introduction of the Bill as an “election jumla” and “a huge betrayal of the hopes of women”.

Ahead of the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday questioned the intention of the government, and said he feels that the government is publicising this in view of elections.

Speaking to the media ahead of day three of the Parliament's special session at his residence, Kharge said, "In 2010, we passed the Bill in Rajya Sabha. But it failed to be passed by the Lok Sabha. That is why this is not a new Bill."

"I feel that they are publicising this in view of elections but actually unless the delimitation or census takes place...you can feel how long it is going to take. They could have continued with the earlier one but their intentions are something else...," he said.

"But we will insist that women's reservation has to be brought and we will fully cooperate. But the loopholes and drawbacks should be rectified," Kharge added.

The reservation will come into effect after a delimitation exercise is undertaken and will continue for 15 years after its commencement.

Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise, according to the bill. The legislation, however, is unlikely to be implemented in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, sources said.

It will be rolled out only after the delimitation process is over, most probably in 2029, they added.

The government said women participate substantively in panchayats and municipal bodies, but their representation in Assemblies and Parliament is still limited.

Women bring different perspectives and enrich the quality of legislative debates and decision-making, it added.

With inputs from agencies

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