Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 15 : BJP leader Smriti Irani on Wednesday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her opposition to the delimitation bill.
"It is regrettable that on one hand, BJP's male leaders have made efforts to increase women's participation, and on the other hand, the political party in the opposition, whose prominent figure is a woman, is opposing it," Irani said.
"Mamata Banerjee perhaps does not believe that the law should be equal for everyone. The TMC government in West Bengal has itself provided proof of how the law can be politically misused," she added.
Earlier, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also launched a sharp attack against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her 'delimitation will divide' remarks.
Sitharaman said, "Is she suggesting that women will have to wait any longer, and she would not cooperate. Let her say that openly. I challenge her. Is she trying to stop reservations for women and putting fear in the minds of people in Bengal?"
On Sunday, Mamata Banerjee said that the special sitting of Parliament to bring in an amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been called amid elections and alleged the government is bringing the delimitation without consultations.
She alleged that the Centre wants delimitation, a process to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, to "divide Bengal."
"Elections are going on, and in the middle of that, they are bringing the Delimitation Bill in Parliament. This was not even debated. The reason behind this is that they want to divide Bengal and conduct the NRC here. Our fight is with 'Vanish Kumar' (referring to CEC Gyanesh Kumar). I reiterate this, BJP will be gone one day very soon," she said at an election rally in Keshiary.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women legislators, is linked to the delimitation process in the Lok Sabha. The government is planning to implement the women's reservation ahead of the 2029 General Elections by bringing in an amendment to the 2023 Act and a constitutional amendment to delink the delimitation process from the 2027 census.
According to sources, the government has proposed to increase the number of seats in the House to 850, with 815 seats proposed for the States and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present.
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