BJP has no will to implement Women's Reservation Bill: Congress

Panaji, Sep 25 (IANS) AICC Social Media National Coordinator Bhavya Narasimhamurthy on Monday alleged that BJP hasn’t had the will to implement the Women’s Reservation Bill since 2014, despite Congress leaders having extended unconditional support.

While addressing a press conference at Congress House in Panaji, the Congress leader questioned the BJP asking why it took so long for BJP to implement the bill.

“BJP had Women’s Reservation Bill in their manifesto in 2014. What stopped Narendra Modi from bringing this bill in the last nine and half years. They had the numbers, it was just the will which was missing,” she said.

“For last many decades our commitment has been for the women empowerment. The Women's Reservation bill is our brain child and we have tried to introduce it number of times. In 1989, it was opposed by BJP stalwarts and they voted against it,” she said.

She said that BJP leaders L. K Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Yashwant Sinha and Ram Jethmalani voted against it.

“In 2010, under UPA government, we could have passed the bill in Rajya Sabha but it couldn’t move forward as we didn’t have numbers,” she said.

“When BJP came to power, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had proposed and told PM Modi that Congress will unconditionally support if the bill will be introduced. In 2018, Rahul Gandhi also extended unconditional support for brining the bill in parliament,” Narasimhamurthy said.

She said that we don’t see any will in BJP to implement this bill.

“This is just hogwash to make sure that they win next Lok Sabha election. They always had communal agenda, but they stand exposed now. There women’s bill will also not work this time,” she said.

“I want to ask PM Modi what is stopping him from implementing the bill just now. There is no logic behind waiting for census and delimitation,” she said, adding women’s population is between 48 to 50 per cent across nation, hence there is no point in conducting census and delimitation.

“We demand that this bill should be implemented immediately and also give quota of OBC in it,” Narasimhamurthy said.