PM Modi is using proposed changes in Women's Reservation Act as election issue: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi [India], April 6 (ANI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that the Modi government has done a U-turn on the Women's Reservation Bill to "divert attention from the grave economic crisis" and influence voters in five poll-bound states and said the government has woken up 30 months after Congress had demanded its immediate implementation.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Assam in which he urged Congress not to do politics over the proposed bill to amend the Women's Reservation Act.
"In Assam today during the election campaign, the Prime Minister urged unanimous support for the women's reservation bill in the special session of Parliament. How much more bogus can he get? The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 was passed unanimously by Parliament in Sept 2023. The Indian National Congress had demanded its implementation from the 2024 election itself," Jairam Ramesh said.
"But the Modi Govt introduced a condition that the reservation will come into effect only after delimitation and census is completed. This is Article 334-A that had got inserted then," he added.
Jairam Ramesh said that PM Modi is using government's latest stance on Women's Reservation Act as an election issue.
"Now all of a sudden to divert public attention from the grave economic crisis and in order to influence voters in the five states the PM has decided that Article 334-A should be amended to do away with delimitation and census pre-requisite. He has woken up after 30 months and done another U-turn," he said.
"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," he added.
PM Modi on Monday said he has urged Congress to give full support to the proposed amendment to the Women's Reservation Bill, which would be taken up during the special sitting of the Parliament later this month and said the opposition party should not do politics over the issue.
Addressing a rally in Assam, PM Modi said that there would be discussion during the special sitting of Parliament on April 16, 17 and 18 so that provision is made for implementation of one-third reservation for women from 2029 Lok Sabha elections and hoped that the decision would be made unanimously.
He accused the Congress of stalling the issue of women's reservation for years and said the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, through which sisters and daughters will get 33% reservation in the country's Parliament and the Assam Legislative Assembly as well, was passed when BJP-led NDA government was in power.
"A special session of Parliament is scheduled for April 16, 17, and 18, in which there will be a discussion on amendments to the women's reservation law. Provisions will be made that at least 33 per cent of women become MPs in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections," he said."I have also urged Congress that it should not do politics on this, give full support to the amendment so that a decision in favour of women is made unanimously," he added. (ANI)