In Cong's backing for women's bill, BJP sees credit snatching

Government should leverage its majority in Lok Sabha to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill guaranteeing 33% of seats for them in Parliament and state legislatures, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has said.

Writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she pledged Congress’ support for passing the legislation which she described as a “significant step forward in women’s empowerment.”

“I am writing to request you to take advantage of your majority in the Lok Sabha to now get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in the Lower House as well,” Gandhi said in the letter dated September 20.

She recalled that the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on March 9 2010 and since then; it has been “languishing” in Lok Sabha “for one reason or the other.”

Her deputy Rahul Gandhi also tweeted his backing for the Bill, saying: “The Congress party has and will continue to support the Women’s Reservation Bill.”

BJP leaders, however, saw the letter as a “preemptive move” to snatch credit for the Bill, especially as the Prime Minister is planning to give a decisive push for its passing in the upcoming Parliament session.

A BJP leader said the Centre is working on the Bill. As the opposition party, the BJP supported the UPA government to push through the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The legislation was conceived by the Deve Gowda government in 1996. Modi is yet to make his thoughts known on the Bill.

Congress leaders Sushmita Dev, Shobha Oza, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, Kushboo Sundar and Priyanaka Chaturvedi addressed a joint press conference to reveal Gandhi’s letter to the prime minister.

Chaturvedi invoked the spirit of Navratri that began on Thursday and hoped that the prime minister, “who observes nine-day fast during the festival”, will acknowledge “the power of Goddess Durga” and “walk the talk” on the issue of women’s empowerment.