- Congress leader alleges bill has no real link to women’s empowerment, accuses government of targeting OBC, SC-ST representation
Punjab Newsline | New Delhi
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi strongly criticized the Women’s Reservation Bill during a discussion in the Lok Sabha, claiming that it has little to do with actual women’s empowerment.
Addressing the House, Gandhi said the bill, passed in 2023, does not genuinely serve the purpose it claims. “This is not a women’s reservation bill. It has nothing to do with empowering women,” he asserted, adding that empowerment cannot be achieved through delimitation.
He urged the government to reintroduce the earlier version of the bill, stating that the opposition would support and pass it. Gandhi also alleged that the government is unwilling to empower Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and is attempting to dilute the rights of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The Congress leader further claimed that the legislation is an attempt to reshape the country’s electoral map, using women as a cover. During his speech, he referred to his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and his sister, MP Priyanka Gandhi.
Rahul also accused the government of trying to disconnect caste census data from political representation for the next 15 years, suggesting that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party fears a decline in its political strength.
In a lighter moment, he remarked, “Yesterday I saw my sister achieve in five minutes what I couldn’t in 20 years of my political career, making Amit Shah smile.”
Reassuring southern and northeastern states, Rahul said their representation would not be reduced. “We will not allow the government to alter your representation in the Union of India,” he said, calling the government’s actions “nothing short of anti-national” and vowing that the entire opposition would resist the move.