Blames Opposition; parties cite delimitation concerns
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday criticised the united Opposition after the Women’s Reservation Bill failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, calling it an injustice to women.
Sawant said that women have been denied the respect and political representation that was expected under the initiative of PM Narendra Modi.
“The respect that was supposed to be given to women through this initiative was not given. By defeating the bill, the Congress and its alliance parties have hurt the sentiments of women,” he said, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event.
The Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 failed to secure passage in the Lok Sabha on Friday, in what is NDA government’s first legislative defeat, after failing to get two-thirds majority during the special session of Parliament.
Opposition parties, on the other hand, stated that they support early implementation of women’s reservation but strongly objected to the proposed Delimitation Bill.
While backing reservation for women in principle, Opposition members criticised the Union government’s proposal to increase the Lok Sabha’s current strength from 543 to 850 seats and to allow delimitation based on the 2011 Census.
BJP announces door-to-door campaign
MARGAO: State BJP President Damu Naik on Saturday said the party is gearing up to go door-to-door across Goa to expose the Congress over the party’s decision to sabotage women reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies.
Condemning the Congress for blocking the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, leading to its defeat, Damu accused the party of paying only lip service to women’s empowerment. “We will go door-to-door to expose how the Congress sabotaged the Bill on Thursday. The BJP’s Bill was aimed at empowering women and bringing meaningful reform,” he said.
The BJP president said the ruling party had sought support from all Opposition parties, including the Congress, for the Bill in Parliament. “Unfortunately, the Congress betrayed that trust by sabotaging the Bill,” he said.
