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Asserting that the INDIA bloc MPs are "not anti-women", Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the ruling NDA government wanted to "gain power so that any further delimitation law could be passed and changed in the House with a simple majority.
He said that the Congress MPs are opposing the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill and the Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha because of the delimitation clause in it. Speaking to ANI from the Parliament premises, Kharge said, "We are not anti-women, and we have been working for one-third women's reservation for a long time. We unanimously supported the 2023 amendment and passed it. However, under the guise of that, they introduced another amendment, inserting a delimitation clause into it, thus consolidating the women's reservation and delimitation bills." He added that the BJP intends to change the structure of the Constitution and take executive power into its own hands. "By bringing these three bills together, they wanted to gain power so that any further delimitation law could be passed and changed in the House with a simple majority... You should do it within the 543 members. After the next census or caste census is complete, you can complete it in the next election... Your intention is to change the structure of the Constitution and take executive power into your own hands..." he added. The remarks come after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which was linked to implementing women's reservation through delimitation. In the voting held after a marathon debate, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it, leading to its defeat. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass as it fell short of the constitutional threshold. The government had introduced three interlinked legislations, including the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later said the remaining bills would not be pursued. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier accused opposition parties of blocking a key reform aimed at granting 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support women's reservation but opposed linking it with delimitation, calling the move an attempt to alter India's electoral structure. (ANI)
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