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A day after the Women's Reservation Bill failed in the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad, on Saturday, hit out at the BJP, calling its statements "baseless and beyond facts," while asserting that the Samajwadi Party firmly supports women's reservation and dignity.
Prasad told ANI, "BJP's statement is baseless and beyond facts. The truth is different. As far as the women's bill is concerned and the respect for women, the reservation for women, the question of giving a respectable place to women is concerned, the Samajwadi Party and the party leader Akhilesh Yadav and we, the entire Samajwadi family, are in favour of giving reservation". "BJP's politics will not work, hence they are saying baseless things." Former Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani stated that the Women's Reservation Bill seeks to strengthen "ordinary women" with political aspirations, not carve out a new vote bank, and added that women have consistently backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014. Irani said the legislation is aimed at political empowerment. Addressing a press conference at the BJP Headquarters, Irani said, "When PM Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, if we look at his journey, the votes of those who voted for him have only increased. So it is not as if there is any attempt to carve out a new vote bank. Women in the country, whether in 2014, 2019 or 2024, have supported PM Modi by voting for him. The bill that has been introduced is one that aims to strengthen the capability of ordinary women in this country who have political aspirations and wish to contribute to the development of the nation. It is a bill that empowers them. Taking a swipe at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Irani said that those who have "inherited politics" may not fully understand such initiatives. "Those who have inherited politics may not understand this for sure. Therefore, I do not expect Mrs Vadra to understand this effort of PM Modi, which empowers ordinary women in the country. Women in the country have consistently and in large numbers voted for PM Modi and supported him," Irani added. The remarks come a day after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority to pass the amendment bill. In the Lok Sabha voting, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre would not proceed with the remaining interlinked legislations. While Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of blocking women's reservation, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support the quota but oppose its linkage with delimitation. (ANI)
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