New Delhi, April 17 Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, while participating in the debate on three bills on Friday, accused the Centre of “pushing its agenda” under the garb of the women’s reservation bill and claiming that this was merely a ‘façade’ unrelated to women’s reservation.
"This is not a women's reservation bill, and it has nothing to do with women's empowerment. This is an attempt to change India's electoral map under the guise of women's rights. The Women's Reservation Bill was passed in 2023. Bring back the old bill, and we'll support it," he said.
He said that women’s quota is being used to "sideline" the caste census and deprive the marginalised and OBC communities of their right to representation in the House.
“It is a shameful act because instead of giving reservations to them, the government is hiding behind reservations and using them as a garb to pursue its political objective,” he said.
He accused the government of trying to take away power from them and bypassing their representation.
Gandhi said that the BJP was "scared of the erosion of its political strength" and hence was trying to rejig the country’s electoral landscape.
“You have done it already in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, and the same is being done pan-India,” he said.
Rallying behind claims of diminishing South representation in the Lok Sabha after the delimitation exercise, he said the Congress party stands firm in its resolve to oppose these bills tooth and nail, and it won’t see the light of day.
Further doubling down on his attack, he labelled this as an “anti-national act”.
“You are telling Southern, Northern and other smaller states that in order to ensure that BJP remains in power, we are trying to take away your representation,” he stated.
He also cornered the government over 'poor' representation of OBCs and Dalits in various arms of government and asked what the government has done to ensure their equitable representation.
“I want to ask where the Dalits and OBCs are in India’s bureaucracy, judiciary, private sector, and also corporate India. You label them as Hindus but don’t give them space in legislative structure,” he said in scathing criticism.
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