Opposition blocked women’s reservation fearing benefit to Modi government: Ramdas Athawale

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale on Sunday alleged that the opposition, including the Congress, opposed the women’s reservation bill in Parliament solely out of fear that it would benefit the Modi government.

Athawale was in the city on Saturday for a local programme. Speaking to the media, he said that had the women’s bill been passed, 181 seats would have been added to Parliament. The bill was defeated by 54 votes. Along with the women’s reservation bill, a delimitation bill was also introduced, which would have increased the number of Lok Sabha constituencies. Constituencies had not been expanded for the past 40–50 years. According to him, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam believed that the move would greatly benefit the Modi government, and therefore opposed the bill. Athawale announced that RPI activists would stage protests across the country against the opposition, including Rahul Gandhi.

He further said that his party is recognised in two states Nagaland and Manipur and if it gains recognition in two more states, it could qualify as a national party. He added that the party is often sidelined in Maharashtra. Had they secured two Lok Sabha seats in the state, the party could have gained recognition there as well. He said that a demand has now been made to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for one MLC position, two corporation chairmanships, and opportunities for party workers in various boards.

Athawale also announced the appointment of Ramesh Anna Mule as the state president of the Maratha Aghadi. Present on the occasion were state working president Baburao Kadam, Milind Shelke, Daulat Kharat, Pappu Kagde, Sanjay Thokle, Vijay Magre and Balkrishna Ingle, among others.

No hardship for the Buddhist community

Athawale said that sub-categorisation within Scheduled Caste reservations should not create difficulties for the Buddhist community. He added that the Matang community should pursue higher education and compete like Buddhists. There are 59 castes in the Scheduled Caste category, and all groups should benefit from reservation. He also demanded that the report of the Badar Committee be made public.