Thakur accused the Congress of not being genuinely committed to women's reservations, both during its 2010 tenure in power and now.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur has countered Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal’s allegations that the BJP is exploiting the women’s reservation Bill for political gain. Thakur pointed out that Sibal, who was the Law Minister when the draft legislation was introduced in 2008, is aware that the Congress-led UPA had no intention of passing the Bill at that time.
The women’s reservation Bill, aimed at ensuring equitable representation for women in Parliament and legislative bodies, was presented during the current Special Session of Parliament.
Thakur accused the Congress of not being genuinely committed to women’s reservations, both during its 2010 tenure in power and now.
Responding to Kapil Sibal’s comments, Thakur remarked, “He was a minister then, in 2008 when a similar legislation was introduced under the UPA. He knew that the Congress was merely pretending to bring the law. Instead of passing it, the draft legislation was sent to the Standing Committee. They (Congress) did not intend to grant reservations to women then, and they still don’t want it now.”
Thakur also highlighted that the Congress had failed to implement women’s reservations under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, or Rajiv Gandhi.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha’s first sitting in the new Parliament building, naming it ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.’ The Bill aims to empower women by reserving 33 percent of seats for them in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi through an amendment to Article 239AA of the Constitution. Additionally, Article 330A provides for the reservation of seats for SC/ST in the House of People.
