Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Wednesday questioned the Narendra Modi government over the Women’s Reservation Bill, asking “why was this Bill brought shrouded in secrecy” and “what consensus was built and discussions held before tabling the legislation in the Lok Sabha”.
During the ongoing discussion on the women’s quota Bill in the Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi said, “I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the Govt’s reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all stakeholders, political parties and then build a consensus before bringing the Bill.”
“I would like to know what consensus was built. What discussions were held. This Bill was brought shrouded in secrecy. We did not know what this session was called for. At the all-party leaders’ meeting there was no mention of this bill… I don’t know if any of the political leaders were called for deliberations. Suddenly the bill popped up on our computers… like a jack-in-the-box,” she added while calling out the government.
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“Is this going to be the way this government will function?” she asked with a sarcastic dig at new uniforms – covered with lotus symbols – for Parliament officials, “Like we are suddenly seeing lotuses blooming from the uniforms of secretariat staff. Is everything going to be a surprise like this?”
As others have, she also slammed the BJP for presenting a bill that cannot come into effect before the 2029 general election because it requires a delimitation, or redrawing of parliamentary constituencies, exercise that, in turn, relies on a national census scheduled for 2027.
“… like the crores and crores of my sister, who are waiting for this bill to be passed, my heart also sank (when it became clear it could not be passed before the next election) when we were told we had to wait… and we don’t know when actually the bill is going to be implemented,” Kanimozhi said.
“This bill is called the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Bill’ (but) stop saluting us! We do not want to be saluted… put on a pedestal… to be worshipped… to be called mothers, sisters or wife. We want to be respected as equals. Let us get down from the pedestal and walk as equals,” she said.
She also pointed out the bill introduced by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2010 had no conditions and that it was to “take effect immediately after the passage…”
In 2010 the bill passed the Rajya Sabha but faltered in the Lok Sabha after the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal – both now part of the INDIA bloc with the DMK and Congress – withdrew support. They wanted a quota for women from backward classes within the proposed 33 per cent.
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The constitutional amendment bill was introduced in the Lower House on Tuesday. It was the first bill introduced in the new Parliament building
The proposed law promises 33 per cent quota for women in parliament and state legislatures, but this may not come into force until 2029, according to reports. The quota can only be implemented after the first delimitation after the bill becomes law, which is likely to happen in 2027 since constituency redrawing only occurs after the next census.