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Maya backs Women’s Reservation Bill, seeks quota within quota for Dalits & OBCs
Mayawati expressed hope that, like the BSP, most other parties would support the historic Women’s Reservation Bill.
LUCKNOW Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati extended her wholehearted support to the Women’s Reservation Bill tabled by the Centre in Parliament on Tuesday, while also advocating for a quota within a quota for women from the OBC and Dalit communities. However, she added that she would support the bill even if her demands were not met.
“Ideally, I would prefer the women’s reservation to be 50% instead of 33%, aligning with their numerical strength. Additionally, I would like a separate quota for Dalits and OBC women, over and above the existing reservation for these communities in Parliament and state assemblies,” she said as the Bill, which had been stuck for nearly 27 years, was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
Mayawati, the only woman politician to have served as the chief minister of U.P. four times, said, “Baba Saheb Ambedkar ensured reservation for people from Dalit and OBC categories due to their social, educational, and economic backwardness. Yet, centuries later, these communities still lag behind. Reservation, whether in government jobs or in political life, is intended to ensure a dignified life for them and to help them overcome their backwardness.”
She emphasised that a quota within a quota in the current Bill was the need of the hour. She expressed concern that if the Bill were passed in its present form, it would appear to her that the BJP and the Congress shared similar ‘casteist thinking,’ and that both parties wanted Dalits and Backwards to remain marginalised.
“Nevertheless, even if our demands regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill are not met, we will still support the Bill presented in Parliament and will ensure its passage because women across all communities lag behind compared to men,” she added.
Mayawati expressed hope that, like the BSP, most other parties would support the historic Bill. “We hope that this Bill, which has been discussed for a long time and delayed, will be passed soon to become law,” she added.
She also emphasised that she did not want any politics to interfere with issues like criteria for reservation under the Bill. “The BSP’s suggestion is that the passage of the Bill should be transparent. Its implementation, once it becomes law, should also be ensured in a timely manner,” she said.
