K’taka CM, DyCM target Centre over women’s quota, delimitation bill

CM Siddaramaiah accused PM Modi of politicizing women's reservation; Shivakumar criticized the bill's lack of consultation. BJP blamed Congress for its defeat

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the women’s reservation issue for political purposes, while deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar criticised the Centre’s approach, saying the bill was introduced without proper consultation with opposition parties. Their remarks come following the defeat of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill on women’s reservation and delimitation in Parliament.

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Speaking in Haveri district, where he was present to launch development works, Siddaramaiah said the Centre was attempting to shift blame onto the opposition for electoral gain. “The Prime Minister is trying to blame the party only for political benefit as there are elections in States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal,” he said.

He maintained that the Congress had never opposed women’s reservation and pointed to its record to support the claim. “Congress has never been opposed to women’s reservation. As the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi introduced 33% reservation in urban and rural local bodies through the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution. When the NDA government introduced the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, the Congress wholeheartedly supported it,” he said.

He expressed concern that the proposed delimitation exercise could alter the balance of power between States. “The current bill aims at reducing the political balance of States and reduce the power of south Indian States. That is why we are opposed to it,” he said.

Elaborating on the potential impact of delimitation, he said the changes could disproportionately favour larger northern States. “The PM and other ministers are going around saying that the number of seats in all States will increase by 50%. If that happens, then the seats in Uttar Pradesh will increase to over 120, from the current 80. But smaller States like Karnataka that have followed proactive policies to stabilise population, will suffer. Karnataka will have only 42 seats. The relative strength of various States in the Parliament will damage the interests of smaller states that have followed progressive policies and schemes,” Siddaramaiah said.

Deputy chief minister Shivakumar also criticised the manner in which the bill was introduced, saying opposition parties were not taken into confidence. “This is democracy; this is not a Hitler-style rule. They cannot bring it in the middle of elections and try to alter the entire constituencies,” he said.

He said there was a need for broader consultation. “They have to take everyone into confidence, but they have not done that. That is why the opposition parties have done a very good job. So, it is a victory of the INDIA alliance,” Shivakumar said.

Rejecting allegations that the Congress opposed women’s reservation, he said, “This is not anyone’s personal property. Women are the nation’s asset. We had passed this in the Rajya Sabha and Congress has already given 50% reservation to women in local bodies. Even today, we support it.”

He also warned that the proposed changes could affect regional representation. “Without consulting us, they are trying to redraw constituencies, giving more weight to North India and reducing representation in South India. No one can tolerate this,” he said.

The BJP, however, blamed the Congress for the bill’s defeat. Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka assembly R Ashoka accused the party of denying women political representation. “The people of the country will not forgive the Congress for ignoring the power of women. They will teach the party a lesson in the upcoming state elections,” he said.

He further alleged that the Congress relied on welfare measures instead of empowering women politically. “The Congress thinks women should remain at home, cook, and visit temples, and should not have political representation. They do not want women in Parliament or the Legislative assembly. They have deprived women of reservation,” he said.

The BJP Mahila Morcha said it had launched protests across the State over the issue. State president KC Manjula said demonstrations had already been held in several towns and would continue. “The protests will continue until the Congress government is removed from power in Karnataka,” she said. “We had prepared to celebrate the passage of the reservation bill, but that has now turned into outrage,” she added.