"Who would think someone would vote against women..": Rijiju slams opposition parties for defeating Women's Reservation Amendment Bill

New Delhi [India], April 28 (ANI): Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed the opposition parties over their stand on the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill and said they will face anger of women for defeating it.
In an interview with ANI, Rijiju said it could not be imagined that opposition parties will oppose the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Parliament, aimed at implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and assemblies from 2029 Lok Sabha polls on the basis of 2011 census.

"Who would think that someone would vote against women? We don't have a two-thirds majority, we have a simple majority with the government. But who would have thought even in a dream that Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party would vote against women? In 2023 also (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed), everyone supported, everyone came together in the name of women. We thought it will happen again," he said.
He said the roadmap for implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill has already been defined in a law passed in 2023.
"They say delimitation was linked (to the amendment bill). It is written in the 2023 law that delimitation will take place after 2026 census and it will be implemented. Why was it not opposed then. This is the process. Decision on reservation has been made, how to take it forward, this has to be done," Rijiju said.
Asked about opposition allegations that proportionate increase in seats will be unfair for the southern states, he said it was clearly stated during debate in Lok Sabha that there will be 50 per cent increase in seats for all states and there will be 33 per cent reservation for women. "They just wanted to oppose..".
Asked if the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha will work in favour of BJP or against, he said this was not the question.
"The question is to give 33 per cent reservation to women. It should not be seen through political lens. Modiji told opposition that if you want to take credit, take it. But they will have to face the anger of women for opposing (the amendment bill)."
Asked about opposition demand that women's reservation should be implemented in the existing 543 members, he said that seats were fixed on the basis of 1971 population and some seats have 30 lakh or 40 lakh voters. "Is this how democracy should work?" he asked.
He said that the population ratio per seat is far less in European and many other countries.
"Pouplation was around 54 crore in 1971 and not one seat has been increased since then.
There was ceiling in 2001 Act (till 2026) and it is natural course, natural process to increase the seats."
Responding to a question about banter with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in which he said he cannot be considered anti-women, Rijiju said it happened after Parliament session.
"We took a picture. Shashi Tharoor, when the parliament session was over, in the hall, he told me...but no woman will consider Shashi Tharoor is opposed to women. I said, yes, no one will call you women's opposition," he said.
"That was what he meant. That Congress can be anti-women, but women will not consider Shashi Tharoor as anti-women...he agreed in a way," Rijiju claimed.
Opposition parties opposed the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha on April 17.
In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill following the debate on the three bills, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against.
With the Constitution Amendment Bill defeated, the government later said it did not want to pursue the two other linked bills.
The bills aimed to take the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816, with 33 per cent reservation for women. The delimitation was to be carried out based on the 2011 census.
Opposition parties said that they are strongly in favour of women's reservation but were against the Delimitation Bill. They asked the government to implement the women's reservation in the existing strength of the Lok Sabha. (ANI)