Women's reservation must be implemented systematically: AICC Himachal incharge Rajani Patil

Patil reiterated the Congress party's long-standing support for women's empowerment.

"We are not opposing the Women's Reservation (Amendment) Bill at all. It should be passed, but it must be implemented systematically," she said.

Patil claimed that the push for women's political representation began during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and was further advanced under Sonia Gandhi.

She said that key processes such as delimitation and census are essential before implementing the women's reservation.

"We had demanded delimitation and census earlier as well, and these steps are necessary before implementing the Bill. We are asking for the same even now," Patil added.

Patil also questioned the delay in bringing the legislation into effect despite it being discussed earlier, stating that the government must ensure proper groundwork before rollout.

The Parliament is set to meet on April 16, 17,18 in a special sitting of the budget session to discuss amendments to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 and a proposed Delimitation Bill to implement the one-third reservation for women legislators.

The government aims to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, also called the Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to delink quotas for women from the delimitation process. Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in 2023. A separate Delimitation Bill will be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation. The new Lok Sabha is likely to have more than 800 seats.

Meanwhile, after attending the Himachal Day programme in Shimla, Patil said the people of Himachal deserve support from the Centre.

"We want Himachal to move forward, but the Central government is not helping the state. The people of Himachal are also your people, and they deserve support," she said. (ANI)