Uttam demands immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill

• Uttam, ex-MLA Padmavathi launches Congress six guarantees in Kodad
• Seeds for Women’s Reservation Bill sown by ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi
• Next Congress Govt implement the Bill with a sub-quota for SCs, STs, OBCs

Hyderabad, September 25: Nalgonda MP and former TPCC President Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded on Monday that the Women’s Reservation Bill, passed by Parliament, be implemented immediately without any delay.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, along with former MLA N Padmavathi, launched the Congress Six Guarantees campaign in the Kodad constituency. Speaking on the occasion, they said that like in other states of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, Congress would form a government in Telangana and implement the six guarantees announced by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. They welcomed the Women’s Reservation Bill but criticized the Modi government’s proposed delayed implementation.

The Congress MP alleged that the BJP government wants to delay the implementation of the bill by at least 10 years by linking it to the next Census and delimitation of constituencies. He said that the Modi-led government is using the Women’s Reservation Bill as a propaganda tool and “jumla”.

Uttam Kumar Reddy traced the history of the Women’s Reservation Bill, crediting its origins to the Congress government led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. In 1987, Rajiv Gandhi’s government constituted a 14-member committee under Union Minister Margaret Alva, which presented the National Perspective Plan for Women, 1988-2000 to the Prime Minister the following year. One of the committee’s 353 recommendations was the reservation of seats for women in elected bodies. These recommendations paved the way for the Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, enacted under Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, which mandated the reservation of one-third of seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and offices of the chairperson at all levels of Panchayati Raj institutions, and in urban local bodies respectively. In several states, seats were reserved for women within the quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

In March 2010, the UPA government passed its Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but it was never introduced in the Lok Sabha due to the lack of consensus over the question of a “quota within quota” for OBC women, and the government’s lack of the numbers to ensure its passage, he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress party has always had a proper vision for women’s empowerment and also has the necessary political will to execute its plans. However, he said that the BJP government is trying to use the Women’s Reservation Bill as a tool to distract people’s attention from other issues like the Congress-led opposition’s demand for a caste-based census.

He said that if the BJP was serious about the Women’s Reservation Bill, it could have passed it in 2014 itself as it had the required strength in the Lok Sabha. In such a scenario, the Women’s Reservation Bill could have been a reality in the 2024 elections. However, the BJP government did nothing in the last 10 years and with less than six months left before the elections, it called a 4-day special session of Parliament to pass a long-pending bill so that it could be implemented after 10 years.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the BJP is now trying to use the Women’s Reservation Bill as an event to make political gains in the next general elections. However, he said that people are aware of the BJP’s cheap tactics and publicity stunts.

 As assured by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said that the Women’s Reservation Bill will be implemented immediately if a Congress government is formed at the Centre. Further, the women’s quota bill will be implemented immediately with a sub-quota for SCs, STs, and OBCs. (Maxim News)

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