Congress Demands Swift Implementation of Women's Quota in Lok Sabha

The Congress party demands immediate execution of women's reservation in the Lok Sabha, protesting what they view as the Modi government's intentional delay for political maneuvering. The 131st Amendment Bill aimed to implement 33% women’s reservation, increase Lok Sabha seats to 816, but was recently defeated.

The Congress party has intensified its demand for the immediate implementation of women's reservation within the existing structure of the Lok Sabha, as they staged a protest against the Modi administration on Sunday. The protest followed the recent defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, which sought to introduce a 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies by 2029, alongside increasing the Lok Sabha's seats from 543 to 816.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticized the government's handling of the matter. He accused them of delaying tactics and claimed that the bill was notified under pressure when it became apparent that it might not pass due to opposition unity. The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee led the protest, which saw active participation from senior figures, including Devender Yadav and Ragini Nayak, highlighting their insistence on executing the reservation within existing parliamentary seats.

The opposition party also countered the criticism from the BJP, alleging that the government deliberately tied the quota to complex processes like delimitation, thereby postponing its rollout. Despite broad support for the women's reservation law in 2023, aligning it with the completion of a delimitation exercise based on outdated census data has sparked controversy and suspicion of political machinations designed to delay empowerment efforts.

(With inputs from agencies.)