Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday criticised the proposed women’s reservation framework, calling it a “shameful act” and alleging that it is aimed at altering India’s electoral
map rather than empowering women. Follow Live Updates Here
Gandhi’s remarks come amid the government’s move to link the implementation of women’s reservation with the delimitation exercise. He argued that the proposal is being used to reshape political representation across states.
He accused the government of attempting to shift representation away from southern and northeastern states. “You are telling the South Indian and North Eastern states that in order for the BJP to remain in power, we are going to take the representation from you,” he said.
Raises Caste Census Concerns
Speaking in Parliament, Gandhi said, “It is a historical fact that how Indian society treated Dalits and OBCs and their women…What is being attempted here is a bypass of the caste census. Here, they are trying to avoid giving power and representation to my OBC brothers and sisters and taking power from them.”
He added, “Manuvad over Samvidhaan…Amit Shah ji says that the caste census has begun. He repeated twice, trying to be clever, saying that houses don’t have caste. The point is whether or not the caste census is going to be used in representation in Parliament & State Assemblies. And now, what you are trying to do is that caste census has nothing to do with representation for the next 15 years…”
Flags Concerns Over Delimitation
Gandhi further said, “You are telling the south Indian, the north-eastern states and small states in India that for the BJP to remain in power, we are going to take away representation from you. This is nothing short of an anti-national act. And we are not going to allow you to do this.”
On the delimitation issue, he added, “What you (BJP) are doing, because you are scared of what is happening in the politics of the country, you are scared of the erosion of your strength, and you are trying to rejig the Indian political map. You did it in Assam, J&K, and now imagining you can do it in India. You need a constitutional amendment to do that.”
