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Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the failure of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, holding the ruling party entirely responsible for the setback.
KTR stated that the Bill failed primarily because the BJP deliberately linked it with the contentious issue of delimitation, thereby derailing its passage. He pointed out that all political parties, including the BRS, had extended support to women's reservations, but the BJP's political approach ensured the Bill did not succeed, as per the party's release. He alleged that by unnecessarily tying the Bill to delimitation, the BJP created avoidable complications and denied women their rightful representation. KTR said that the reservations could have been implemented immediately within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, but the BJP chose to politicise the issue. KTR further accused the BJP of attempting to disadvantage southern states by linking women's reservations with delimitation, ignoring the concerns raised by several parties. He said this approach has led to the loss of a historic opportunity for women's empowerment. KTR said the people of the country have witnessed the BJP's political drama in the name of women's reservations. He alleged that the party used the issue for electoral gains and has now betrayed women across the country. He demanded that the BJP immediately bring a fresh Women's Reservation Bill without linking it to delimitation and ensure its implementation from the upcoming elections to prove its sincerity. KTR stated that delimitation is a complex issue and warned that the current approach could reduce the representation of southern states in Parliament. He urged the Centre to hold wide consultations and discussions before proceeding further. He said the developments in Parliament should serve as a lesson for the BJP against pushing unilateral decisions on sensitive national issues. KTR reiterated that increasing the number of Assembly seats in Telangana, as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, is the state's right. He questioned why the Centre has increased seats in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam without linking them to nationwide delimitation, while ignoring Telangana. He demanded that the Centre introduce a separate Bill in the current Parliament session to increase Telangana Assembly seats before 2028, without linking it to national delimitation. KTR urged the BJP to correct its approach and ensure women's reservations without political conditions. (ANI)
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