The Lok Sabha witnessed some lighter moments during the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill amendment when Opposition member and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the government over reservation for Muslim women.
Yadav also said that the NDA parties have governments in 21 states. “The BJP must tell how many women Chief Ministers it has? The Delhi Chief Minister is half Chief Minister as she does not have all the powers compared to other Chief Ministers,” said Yadav.
“The whole nation wants a reservation for half of the population (women). I want to know whether Muslim women don’t come under half of the population?” questioned Akhilesh Yadav.
Reacting to Akhilesh Yadav’s question, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Samajwadi Party can give all its tickets to Muslim women and the BJP has no problem with it. To this, the house burst into laughter and even Yadav smiled.
Responding to the Samajwadi Party’s demand, Amit Shah said, “Akhilesh Yadav asked why the census is not being conducted. I want to inform the entire country that the census process has already begun. The government has taken a decision to conduct a caste census, and the enumeration is being carried out along with caste data. If it were up to the Samajwadi Party, they would even assign castes to households. Dharmendra Yadav spoke about giving reservations to Muslim women. This is unconstitutional. Reservation based on religion is unconstitutional.”
Later in the house, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly pitched for the implementation of the women’s reservation bill from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday said MPs must not let this important opportunity slip away and noted that women have not forgotten those who have stood against their rights.
Participating in the debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill for early implementation of the women’s reservation bill, PM Modi said there are some important moments in the life of a country and the mindset of the society and the capability of the leadership can capture that moment and turn it into an asset for the nation.
“Discussion on this important bill began this morning. Many members have raised various issues, and we will provide detailed and accurate information to the House on those matters. That is why I do not wish to go into those specifics. There are some important moments in the life of a country. At such a time, the mindset of the society and the capability of the leadership capture that moment and turn it into an asset for the nation, creating a strong legacy. In the history of India’s parliamentary democracy, these are such moments,” he said.
