‘What consensus was built?’: DMK's Kanimozhi to Centre on women's reservation bill

Kanimozhi said the government replied to her questions on women's bill stating that all stakeholders and political parties needed to be involved for consensus.

Published on: Sep 20, 2023, 12:42:36 IST

By HT News Desk

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Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi on Wednesday questioned the Narendra Modi government over the women's reservation bill, asking what consensus was built and discussions held before tabling the legislation in the Lok Sabha.

"I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the Govt's reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all stakeholders, political parties and then build a consensus before bringing the Bill", the MP from Thoothukudi said during the debate on the bill in the ongoing Lok Sabha.

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“I would like to know what consensus was built. What discussions were held. This Bill was brought shrouded in secrecy. We did not know what this session was called for”, she added.

Kanimozhi's remark comes hours after her nephew and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin had hit out at the Centre over the bill that proposes 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies.

“It seems they (Centre) are not going to implement it (draft women's reservation law) for the time being. For the last 10 years, we have been demanding such a law. They are saying that they will only do a census and delimitation exercise for now. There is no clarity on when they would implement it”, the DMK leader was quoted by ANI as saying.

The constitutional amendment bill was introduced in the Lower House on Tuesday. It was the first bill introduced in the new Parliament building

DMK MP Kanimozhi speaks in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. (Sansad TV)

Cong declares support to bill

Congress, DMK's ally in Tamil Nadu, has already declared support to the bill, with Sonia Gandhi demanding immediate implementation of the bill. “INC demands that the Bill be implemented with immediate effect but Caste census should also be done and arrangement for reservation of SC, ST and OBC women should be made”, Gandhi said during the debate in the Lok Sabha.

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