BJP Points Finger at Congress Over Women's Reservation Issue: New Bill Introduced

The BJP has accused the Congress party of not being serious about providing reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. This follows after a constitutional amendment bill was introduced to reserve one-third of seats for women, reviving a concept that has been pending for 27 years.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has recently accused the Indian National Congress of never being serious about providing reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. This allegation was made after the government introduced a bill concerning this issue in the Lower House of Parliament on September 19th.

Reviving Women's Reservation

The government has proposed a constitutional amendment to reserve one-third of seats in both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reviving an idea that had been dormant for 27 years due to lack of consensus among political parties. The introduction of such a bill signifies an effort towards greater gender equality within India's political landscape.

Amit Shah Comments on Opposition

Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that introducing this bill in the Lok Sabha is indicative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unwavering commitment to empowering women. However, he expressed disappointment over opposition parties' response to it. In particular, he criticized Congress party’s attitude towards women's reservation, accusing them of only paying lip service to such initiatives without taking concrete actions.

"Sadly, the opposition is unable to digest this," said Shah. "And what is more shameful is that except tokenism, the Congress has never been serious about women’s reservation." He further suggested that either they let legislations lapse or their friendly parties prevented bills like these from being tabled. "Their double standards will never be hidden, whatever stunts they try to take credit," added Shah.

First Bill Introduced in New Parliament Building

In another significant move, this legislation became the first bill introduced in India's new Parliament building. The government believes it will facilitate greater participation by women at both national and state levels when it comes to policy-making decisions.

This step could potentially pave way for achieving gender parity in Indian politics, which has been a long-standing issue. Despite women constituting nearly half of India's population, their representation in political offices is disproportionately low. The introduction of this bill could be instrumental in changing that scenario.

In conclusion, the government's move to introduce a constitutional amendment for women's reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies marks an important step towards gender equality. While it has sparked criticism from opposition parties like Congress, the ruling party remains firm on its commitment to empower women through increased political participation. It now remains to be seen how this bill will fare in Parliament and what impact it will have on the future of Indian politics.