New Delhi: Supporting Rahul Gandhi in his war of words against Union minister Kiren Rijiju, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday blamed the Centre of “unnecessarily and mischievously” associating its implementation to the delimitation exercise.
The Rajya Sabha MP, P Chidambaram, said Rijiju was “wrong” to suggest that the Congress needed to support a Women’s Reservation Bill. He pointed out that the law providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies had already been passed in 2023.
“Mr Kiren Rijiju is wrong. Women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha is already provided in the law under the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 as pointed out by Mr Rahul Gandhi It was unnecessarily and mischievously linked to the Census and Delimitation by the BJP government We had pointed out this in 2023 but the government was adamant because it had a hidden agenda Snap this linkage, and Women’s reservation can be implemented immediately well in time for the 2029 LS elections Mr Kiren Rijiju is absolutely wrong @ Rahul Gandhi @ Kiren Rijiju,” the leader wrote on X.
Earlier, Gandhi and Rijiju traded barbs over the women’s quota and the Centre’s move to link its implementation to the delimitation process.
Rijiju had shared a video of Gandhi speaking about giving women greater freedom of expression. The minister indicated that there had been a “visible change of heart” in Gandhi.
He had also urged the Congress to support women’s reservation “unconditionally”. To this, Rahul Gandhi responded by reminding the Parliamentary Affairs Minister that the legislation had already been passed with the Congress’s support.
It is to be noted that the BJP-led NDA does not have the two-thirds majority, which is needed to pass a constitutional amendment on its own. Thus, Opposition’s support is crucial.
The Congress has been demanding that the women’s quota bill should be implemented separately.