NEW DELHI: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday accused the Congress party of being ‘anti-women’ for allegedly thwarting the passage of the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha. He asserted that the government remains committed to its efforts to ensure women’s rightful place in decision-making processes.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that at a press conference concluding the Budget session, the parliamentary affairs minister expressed regret over the bill’s failure to secure Lok Sabha approval. However, he refrained from characterizing the development as a failure for the government or the ruling alliance.
Rijiju stated that the Congress party was “celebrating” after allegedly “depriving” women of their rights, predicting that the women of the country would respond accordingly in future elections. He further commented that the opposition’s stance exposed an “anti-women mentality,” which he described as a “black spot” for the party.
“We are sad, but we don’t consider it a failure of the party and the government. They have hurt the women of the country. We wanted to give honour to women, empower them… We will continue to do so,” Rijiju said, underscoring the government’s resolve to pursue gender equality in political representation.
The minister elaborated that the government and the ruling alliance had exerted considerable effort to pass the bill but were unsuccessful. He acknowledged that while physical coercion to vote in favour of a bill is not possible, the votes cast during the proceedings were conducted democratically.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was ultimately defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday night following opposition parties voting against its passage. The proposed legislation aimed to increase Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 816 from the current 543. This increase was intended to facilitate the operationalization of the women’s reservation law prior to the 2029 parliamentary polls, contingent upon a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census data.
Furthermore, the bill included provisions to raise the number of seats in state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate the mandated 33 per cent reservation for women. The passage of this constitutional amendment bill required a two-thirds majority, a threshold the BJP-led ruling alliance failed to achieve. During the voting, 298 members supported the bill, while 230 MPs voted against it. With 528 members participating in the vote, the bill needed 352 votes to secure the required two-thirds majority.
Rijiju also provided an overview of the legislative business conducted during the Budget session. He noted that twelve bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha successfully passed nine bills, while the Rajya Sabha passed or returned nine bills. One bill was withdrawn in the Lok Sabha. The minister reported that the productivity of the Lok Sabha stood at approximately 93 percent, while the Rajya Sabha achieved about 110 percent productivity.
The Budget session was divided into three parts. The first part comprised 13 sittings each for both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The second part also involved 13 sittings for both houses. The third and final part, from April 16 to April 18, consisted of three sittings each for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, bringing the total number of sittings for the entire session to 31, spread across 81 days.
The Chenab Times News Desk