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Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh has alleged that the Women's Reservation Bill brought by the BJP was aimed more at political gains than genuine women empowerment, and accused the ruling party at the Centre of attempting to alter the democratic balance through delimitation.
He said Congress had made it clear that it is willing to support the bill passed in 2023 if the government delinked it from the Delimitation Bill it had introduced along with the Constitution Amendment Bill. "Their version carried political motives aimed at altering the democratic structure," he said. He said the opposition raised concerns over the linkage of reservation with delimitation, arguing that it could disproportionately benefit larger states while disadvantaging smaller ones like Himachal Pradesh. "If representation is decided purely on population, smaller states will lose their voice. This goes against the spirit of federalism," he said. Singh added that women's reservation should be implemented within the existing strength of the Lok Sabha to ensure broader representation. "Congress has always supported women's empowerment. From Panchayati Raj institutions to Parliament, we have consistently backed reservation for women," he said. He said initiatives taken during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation for 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions, which helped bring women into mainstream politics. On remarks by a party leader regarding 71 block units not having women chiefs, Singh said the party remains committed to women's representation. "In district units, women have been given leadership roles, including in key districts like Mandi and Bilaspur. At the block level, decisions are based on applications received, and no women candidate had applied in those cases," he said. He said the party respects Viplove Thakur's views and will consider them. "She is a senior and respected leader, and her concerns will be taken into account," he added. Targeting BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, Singh said her remarks reflect a lack of awareness about the state's political representation. "It is unfortunate that someone who does not even know how many women MLAs are in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly is making such claims. There are three women MLAs in the Assembly," he said, referring to her remarks in Lok Sabha in which she purportedly said that the state has one woman MLA. Singh alleged that the BJP was attempting to reshape the democratic system ahead of future elections. "This is not about empowerment but about political arithmetic. People are aware and will respond accordingly," he said. (ANI)
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