Bhubaneswar, April 20 The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday criticised the BJP-led Union Government over the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill, alleging delays and spreading of false propaganda on the issue.
Speaking at a press conference held here, Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka stated that he was present in the Lok Sabha when the Bill was introduced and said the government’s intentions were questionable from the very outset.
He noted that the Bill was passed in 2023 with near unanimity, with only two members opposing it, and later became law.
However, he questioned the delay in issuing the Gazette notification, which was released only on April 16, 2026. He asked why it took the Union government three long years to issue the notification.
He said the Congress party had wanted the immediate implementation from 2024, reserving 181 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha for women, along with provisions for SC, ST, and OBC communities.
The Koraput MP noted, however, that the government convened a special session of Parliament in the midst of elections and linked the implementation to the 2026 Census and delimitation, proposing reservation in an expanded House of 850 seats.
Ulaka further alleged that the delimitation process could reduce representation for southern states based on population and limit the seat allocation in states like Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, where the BJP has no votes.
He accused the BJP government of spreading misinformation in the name of women’s reservation and asserted that the Congress has historically prioritised women’s empowerment—from the posts of President and Prime Minister to Governors, Chief Ministers, and Panchayat leaders.
Ulaka also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that in a 29-minute speech during his recent national address, he mentioned the Congress 59 times and the TMC 10 times, which, according to him, reflected the PM’s helplessness and weakness.
He questioned whether the Election Commission had taken note of such remarks during the ongoing elections, and also criticised the Prime Minister for remaining silent on major issues such as Manipur.
“PM Modi is disturbed as this is his first defeat in 12 years of his rule. If he wants to provide reserved seats for women, he should reserve 181 of the existing 543 seats, and we, the opposition, are ready to extend unconditional support. Modi’s decline has begun. The women of the country are not foolish,” said Ulaka.
He also announced that a decision has been taken to organise nationwide protests against the BJP government’s “anti-women policies and misinformation campaign,” under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi, involving women MPs and grassroots workers.
--IANS
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