Kharge again cornered the government on women’s reservation, demanded an all-party meeting after the elections. india news
Congress President hints at supporting Center in 2029New Delhi: Rejecting the Centre’s latest offer of a meeting to discuss amendments to the Women’s Reservation Bill, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to the Modi government saying the opposition is “extremely busy” in the assembly election campaign and reiterated the demand that the government call an all-party meeting after April 29 when polling for the elections will close.However, for the first time since talks of amending the quota bill began, Kharge has indicated the opposition’s readiness to facilitate the implementation of 33% women reservation in legislatures from 2029. Also, it is learned that the government has formally told Kharge that it wants to separate the census and delimitation from the women’s quota issue.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday wrote a letter to Kharge demanding a meeting to discuss the issue. In response, Kharge rebuked the government for being “too hasty” in “amending a constitutional amendment act 30 months after it is passed”, and asked to wait till the end of the elections.“We are all extremely busy with the election campaign. That is why we had suggested that the meeting be held after the campaign is over,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, except TMC, the opposition India Bloc wrote to the government saying it should call an all-party brainstorm on amendments to the landmark bill. It demanded that the government circulate its proposal for amendments in advance for better discussion. Kharge has twice before rejected the government’s appeal for only Congress meeting and asked to discuss the issue with the entire opposition camp.Attacking the government, Kharge wrote, “During the debate in the Rajya Sabha on September 21, 2023, I myself had demanded immediate implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, 2023, but the government did not agree to my demand.”Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said the implication of the government’s latest petition is that it wants to amend Section 334-A(1), which is sudden as this section of the Constitution was passed only two years ago. Pointing to the ongoing elections, he said, “The Election Commission’s model code of conduct has been changed to the Modi campaign code. Convening a special two-day session on any day in April would be a violation of one MCC but in line with the other.“