Fadnavis Launches National Campaign for Women's Reservation Bill
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday announced the launch of a comprehensive campaign to create awareness about the Women's Reservation Bill across the country, with a special focus on Maharashtra. He declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the state will collect one crore signatures in support of the bill and submit them to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Campaign Strategy and Opposition Criticism
"We shall create awareness such that the opposition will be forced to acknowledge and come in support of the Bill. We will not rest till the women's reservation bill is passed," said Fadnavis, emphasizing their commitment to exposing what he termed the opposition's anti-women mindset. Addressing a press conference, he revealed that the BJP will hold a major demonstration tomorrow in support of the bill, with all Mahayuti allies conducting awareness campaigns at their respective levels.
Fadnavis accused the Opposition parties of effecting the "foeticide" of women's rights in elected bodies, stating, "The Opposition murdered the women's quota Bill due to their regressive mindset." He specifically targeted the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), Congress, and Samajwadi Party for opposing the bill on April 17th, a day he described as potentially significant in the country's social history.
Historical Context and Political Accusations
Terming the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) as opportunistic, Fadnavis noted that in 2023, the NDA had a two-thirds majority, leading these parties to vote in favor of the Bill. He challenged the Opposition to appoint someone of his level for a debate on their arguments against the Bill, asserting that the decision to complete the process based on the 2011 census was made to ensure speedy justice for women.
"If the NDA had a two-thirds majority, the bill could have been passed easily, leaving no opposition party with the opportunity to oppose it," he added. On the timing of the bill's introduction, Fadnavis said the announcement had been made long ago, and it was a big risk to bring it during elections without a two-third majority, but Prime Minister Modi proceeded due to his commitment to women's reservation.
Implementation Details and Census Delays
Responding to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's criticism, Fadnavis explained that the Bill's implementation is constitutionally linked to the completion of the census and subsequent delimitation of constituencies. He pointed out that it was originally envisaged the census would be completed by 2024, followed by delimitation and implementation of the reservation by 2029.
However, due to delays in conducting the census—attributed to the country becoming Covid-free only towards the end of 2023 and preparations taking two years—the government proposed a "limited technical adjustment" by relying on earlier population data to initiate the process. "A similar approach was adopted earlier when delimitation was carried out in 2008 based on the 2001 census. The Opposition is fully aware of these provisions but is still opposing for political reasons," Fadnavis stated.
Broader Implications and Allegations
Fadnavis rejected Gandhi's charge that the move diverts attention from a caste census, saying the two issues are unrelated. He clarified that caste enumeration among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) would be undertaken as part of the broader census exercise, claiming that previous Congress-led governments had not conducted such an exercise. He further alleged that Congress failed to implement women's reservation when it had the required parliamentary strength.
The CM accused the Congress of having an urban Naxal mindset, stating it opposes everything that goes against its political interest. He highlighted that the women's reservation bill was passed unanimously in 2023, expressing disappointment at the opposition's subsequent turnaround. "How would one know they (the opposition) would turn like this," said Fadnavis.
Additionally, he mentioned that the centre had assured a 50 per cent increase in existing seats, which would have increased the representation of the southern states from 23.76 per cent to 23.87 per cent, with the representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes also rising.
