Cong urges Modi to pass Women's Reservation Bill
The Congress on Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament and alleged the "anti-woman mindset of the RSS" was standing in his way.
Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev demanded that the Bill be introduced and passed in the winter session of Parliament and implemented in the 2019 general elections.
"The question is why the Prime Minister is silent till today? I have no doubt that it is the ideals and principles and the mindset of the RSS which has always been anti-woman and against empowering women, politically and otherwise, that is standing in his way," she said.
The passage of the Bill would be just the beginning of the process, she added.
"Passing the Bill is step one - there are various other steps after that which have to be taken so that it is fully implemented in 2019," she told reporters here.
The Congress leader alleged that even after ruling for three and a half years, the prime minister had "done nothing" about his "self-proclaimed commitment" to the Bill, also mentioned in the BJP manifesto.
She demanded that the Bill be introduced in the Lok Sabha and constituencies be identified and reserved for women before the next general poll.
"Please
make
sure
it
is
implemented
in
2019,"
she
said.
Dev,
who
is
also
the
All
India
Mahila
Congress
chief,
said
she
along
with
other
party
workers
submitted
a
memorandum
to
President
Ram
Nath
Kovind,
carrying
signatures
of
32
lakh
people
for
the
early
passage
of
the
Bill.
While
the
delegation
sought
Kovind's
support
on
this,
she
said
all
Mahila
Congress
district
presidents
would
submit
memorandums
to
the
prime
minister
through
district
collectorates
on
October
31,
demanding
an
early
passage.
Dev
said
Congress
president
Sonia
Gandhi
wrote
to
Modi
on
September
21,
assuring
him
of
her
party's
support
to
the
Bill,
but
Modi
had
not
responded
to
or
acknowledged
the
letter.
"The BJP in its own manifesto in 2014 said they were committed to 33 per cent reservation for women," she said, adding that the ruling party had not fulfilled its commitment towards women even after three and a half years.
"The Modi government has not only betrayed the youth, farmers and the poor but is also deceiving the political aspirations of 586 million women," she said.
Moving on to the social media, Dev asked if the government's National Informatics Centre had hired a private firm for its "online reputation management".
"I want to question the IT Minister ... is the NIC being used to help you with social media trending? Are you spending tax payers' money," she asked.
Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad must answer questions raised in the public domain, she said.
PTI