Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that the defeat of the women reservation bill in the Lok Sabha should not be seen as failure of the government and accused Congress of causing a big setback to the country.While addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the Budget session, Rijiju said that the opposition will have to bear the brunt of being anti-women.“The Budget Session was extended for three days April 16, 17, 18 during which Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and Delimitation Bill were introduced. We have the majority, but we didn’t get the 2/3rd majority needed for Constitution Amendment,” Rijiju said.“Congress will have to face the anger of women; celebrating women’s defeat is proof of their anti-women mindset,” he added.This comes after the bill proposing women’s reservation through a delimitation exercise could not secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, with 298 members voting in favour and 230 opposing it.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the Constitution Amendment Bill had not been passed. Following the outcome, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not proceed with the remaining two interlinked bills.The BJP has accused opposition parties of blocking a historic reform aimed at ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that parties like Congress, TMC, and others prevented the passage of the bill and warned of political consequences.However, the opposition has maintained that it supports women’s reservation in principle but opposes linking it with delimitation and census processes. Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, described the bill as an attempt to alter India’s electoral structure, while several Congress leaders termed the vote a defence of democratic values.
