'No one could ever call me anti-women': Tharoor shares details of conversation with Rijiju

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday shared a snippet of his conversation with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, and said the BJP leader conceded that “no one could ever call me anti-women”.

Tharoor also said women are by far the better half of the species – 'Humans 2.0' – and deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.

“Just don’t link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said on X.

Sharing a picture of some opposition MPs standing with Rijiju in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor said, “A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

“When Kiren Rijiju explained why he and his party were calling the Opposition ‘mahila virodhi', it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point…” “Let’s face it, women are by far the better half of the species. They’re the improved models: Humans 2.0. They deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.” In a major setback to the government, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.

The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the bill.

After the bill was defeated on Friday, the Congress said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation had been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.