Amit Shah vs Opposition in Lok Sabha over women's quota bill: Who said what

The Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing 33% reservation for women in legislatures by 2029, along with increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats, was defeated in the Lower House on Friday. The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the required 352 votes needed for a two-thirds majority out of 528 members who participated in the voting.

Leader Of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it aimed at altering the country’s electoral map to stay in power, calling it an “anti-national act", whereas Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed opposition parties over their position on the bills aimed at implementing women’s reservation from the 2029 general elections, warning that they would face backlash from women voters in the next polls

"This (bill) is an attempt to change the country's electoral map, using and hiding behind India's women," he said, calling it a “shameful act”, as per PTI. Gandhi urged the government to reintroduce the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act for implementation, assuring full support from the opposition for its immediate passage.

He also stated that a “central truth” of India’s history has been the “brutal, cruel, and unforgiving treatment” of OBCs, Dalits, minorities, and women.

"What is being attempted here is a bypass of the caste census. They are trying to avoid giving power, representation to my OBC brothers and sisters, and instead take power away from them," Gandhi said, adding that the real agenda is "Manuvaad over Samvidhan".

He further alleged that the government intends to ensure that the caste census has no impact on representation for the next 15 years, claiming they want to "kick the ball down the street".

Describing the move as “very dangerous,” Gandhi said, "You (government) are scared of what is happening in the politics of this country, you are scared of the erosion of your strength, and you are trying to rejig the Indian political map.

"You have done it in Jammu and Kashmir, you have done it in Assam, and now you are imagining that you can do it in the whole of India," he said.

He added that the government is effectively telling southern, northeastern, and smaller states that for the BJP to stay in power, "we are going to take away representation from you".

"What the government is doing is nothing short of an anti-national act. Under no circumstances will the opposition allow the government to do this. The entire opposition will defeat this attempt of yours to attack the nation state and deprive OBCs and Dalits of their rightful place in society," Gandhi mentioned.

"You call OBCs Hindus, you call Dalits Hindus, but you do not give them any space in the power structure of the country," he said.

"Mahilian dekh rahin hain, raste ka roda kaun hai (women are seeing who is the obstacle in their path). When they (opposition members) fight the polls, they will face the wrath of women," he mentioned.

Shah said, “Delimitation also includes provisions for increasing the seats for SC and ST in proportion to their growing population. In a way, those opposing delimitation are also opposing the increase in SC and ST seats.”

"There are 127 seats where the constituency has more than 20 lakh. It goes against the spirit of the principle - One person, one vote and one value. At some places, 45 lakh voters have one representative, and at some places, six lakh voters have one representative. As a result, the value of each vote is not equal across constituencies," he further said.

Shah said that in 1972, the government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi introduced the Delimitation Bill, increasing Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545 and subsequently freezing them at that number. He added that during the Emergency in 1976, the 42nd Amendment halted delimitation, alleging that the Congress party denied people this process then and continues to do so even today.

“In 1972, the then PM Indira Gandhi's government brought the Delimitation Bill and increased the number of seats from 525 to 545, and then froze it at this. In 1976, to save power during the Emergency period, the 42nd Amendment imposed a ban on delimitation. Even at that time, it was the Congress party that deprived the country's people of delimitation, and today too, it is the Congress party that is depriving them of delimitation,” he mentioned.

The bill had proposed raising the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to a maximum of 850 seats to facilitate the implementation of the women’s reservation law ahead of the 2029 general elections, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. The proposal also included increasing seats in state and Union Territory assemblies to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women.

(With inputs from agencies)