Delhi CM hits out at Opposition after ‘delimitation’ bill defeated

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accused the Opposition of derailing the women's reservation bill, claiming it undermines women's rights and justice in Parliament.

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government’s effort to pass the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha was derailed by the Opposition, which “deliberately created arguments to prevent its passage.”

Gupta said the events of the past few days in Parliament were “deeply unfortunate” and amounted to an injustice to women’s rights (PTI)

Addressing a press conference, Gupta said the events of the past few days in Parliament were “deeply unfortunate” and amounted to an injustice to women’s rights. “The women’s reservation bill has been repeatedly introduced in Parliament over the past 30 years, but each time it has been stalled on one pretext or another—torn, suppressed, or even burned. This time too, the Opposition deliberately created various arguments to prevent its passage,” she alleged.

The 131st Constitution amendment bill – which sought to raise the Lok Sabha ceiling to 850 and implement 33% reservation for women in time for the 2029 polls – was defeated by a united Opposition on Friday. It was the first defeat of a government bill since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 2014.

Noting that the bill passed in 2023 clearly states that reservation for women will be implemented after delimitation, Gupta said opposing the same provision now is contradictory. “If this condition was accepted in 2023, what is the basis of opposition today?” she asked.

Responding to the Opposition’s argument for providing 33% reservation within the existing 543 seats, she said it should first be clarified which male representatives are ready to give up their seats. “The Central Government’s proposal was a win-win solution, where the number of seats would be increased to provide 33% reservation to women without affecting any existing representatives, while also safeguarding the representation of states and regional parties,” she said.

Lok Sabha seats have remained fixed at 543 since 1971, when the country’s population was around 500 million, whereas today it is close to 1.5 billion, she said, adding that redistribution and expansion of seats is the need of the hour.

Slamming the Opposition’s demand for “quota within quota,” she called it merely an excuse. “The Opposition wants everything at once but is not even willing to agree on the basic right of giving women an opportunity to reach Parliament and State Assemblies,” she alleged.

Targeting them on the issue of Muslim women, she said the same parties had opposed the Triple Talaq law and even resisted the court’s decision in the Shah Bano case. Their current stance, she said, is “merely pretence.”

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said he even told the Opposition to take credit for the bill if they wished, but to pass it in the interest of women – yet they refused.

Hitting out at the Congress, she said it has now become the “All India Anti-Reform Congress,” accusing them of opposing every major reform including surgical strikes, digital payments, GST, Article 370, Triple Talaq, UCC, CAA, and One Nation-One Election.

Gupta said that under Modi’s leadership, extensive work has been done for women’s empowerment, including the construction of 10 crore toilets, Ujjwala gas connections, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, nutrition and health schemes, maternity benefits, and increased participation of women in the Army and Air Force.

She also said that given the current circumstances – the census and delimitation process – full implementation of the bill by 2029 appears difficult. Citing figures, she said that while there are around 1.5 million women representatives in local bodies, their number is only about 400 in State Assemblies and just 78 in the Lok Sabha. “If everything worked on auto mode, women would have naturally reached higher levels of politics, but that has not happened – hence policy intervention is necessary,” she said.