New Delhi, April 6 The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the proposal to amend the women's quota law as a poll issue and asserted that the people in the four states and one Union Territory going to polls will give him a "resounding reply and decisively reject the BJP".
The opposition party's assertion came after Prime Minister Modi, during an election rally in Assam, said the 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament would be implemented from the 2029 general elections.
Hitting out at the PM, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "During the election campaign in Assam today, the Prime Minister urged unanimous support for the women's reservation bill in the special session of Parliament. How much more misleading can he get?"
Noting that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, was passed unanimously by Parliament in September 2023, Ramesh pointed out that the Congress had demanded its implementation from the 2024 elections themselves.
"But the Modi government introduced a condition that the reservation will come into effect only after delimitation and the Census is completed. This is Article 334-A that was inserted then," the Congress leader said.
Now, all of a sudden, to divert public attention from the grave economic crisis and influence voters in the four states and one Union Territory, the PM has decided that Article 334-A should be amended to do away with delimitation and Census pre-requisites, Ramesh said, adding that the PM has "woken up after 30 months and done another U-turn".
"Now he is using this as an election issue. The people in the five states will give him a resounding reply and decisively reject the BJP," the Congress leader said.
Ramesh also shared a screenshot of Article 334-A, which states, "Reservation of seats for women take effect (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this Part or Part VIII, the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect after any exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken – after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such commencement.
"Rotation of seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation as the Parliament may by law determine," it says.
Wooing women voters, Modi said the 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament would be implemented from the 2029 general elections.
"A special session of Parliament has been convened on April 16 to discuss the issue with all parties and take this forward. But some people are trying to spread rumours even about this," he said.
The Budget session of Parliament has been extended for three more days and will reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess, with the Centre planning to bring legislation to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816.
The proposed increase in seats is aimed at facilitating the implementation of the women's reservation law enacted in 2023.
"All states in the country will benefit from this...they have waited 40 years for this, and women in Assam should urge all parties to ensure the Bill's passage," Modi said at the poll meeting.
While elections in Puducherry, Assam and Kerala are scheduled for April 9, polls in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. In Tamil Nadu, polls will be held in a single phase on April 23.
The Congress last week had alleged that the government has called a "special session" of Parliament for passing bills related to amending the women's quota law and delimitation to "grab political mileage" in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu polls, which, it claimed, is a "gross violation" of the model code of conduct.
Asserting that the government's push for a rushed delimitation exercise would have "dangerous consequences", Ramesh had said, "We do not want any disturbance in the present differentials and relative strength."
The Congress had also cautioned against any haste in amending the Constitution regarding delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, saying it is a sensitive matter and the government must tread carefully, otherwise the exercise might put several states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala at a significant disadvantage.
