Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Apr 20: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale today accused the opposition of “betraying” women by blocking a proposed bill to expand reservation for women in Parliament, and said they would be punished by women voters.
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Addressing a public rally at Malwan in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Athawale-who heads the Republican Party of India (Athawale)-said the Centre had attempted to introduce a measure to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures but failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in Parliament.
“The Modi Government brought the bill to ensure reservation for women, but the opposition deprived them of their rights. The women of this country will punish them for this betrayal,” he said.
He alleged that the opposition, led by Rahul Gandhi, opposed the move for political reasons, claiming they believed the proposal would benefit the NDA led by Narendra Modi.
Explaining the proposal, Athawale said it envisaged increasing Parliament’s total strength through delimitation, including a provision for 273 seats reserved for women.
“There was a proposal to increase the total number of seats, including 273 seats for women,” he said, adding that the strength of the Lok Sabha has remained at 543 for years despite population growth and was proposed to be raised to 816.
He said the Government had sought to build consensus among states and assured that no region would face discrimination or a reduction in representation.
However, he alleged that opposition parties “misled” people, particularly in southern states, by claiming their representation would be reduced.
“They thought this would benefit the NDA, so they opposed it,” Athawale said, adding that the Government would make further efforts to gather the required support and pass the bill.
Turning to J&K, the Minister said the Centre remains committed to the region’s development and is addressing key infrastructure and connectivity challenges.
“We are committed to the development of J&K and are working on major infrastructure projects,” he said.
He cited improved road connectivity between Srinagar and Jammu, claiming travel time has been reduced to around four hours due to better highways, and added that work on rail links, tunnels and bridges is ongoing.
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