BJP to hold ‘Akrosh’ rally today after women’s quota bill defeat in LS

Bhopal: A day after the defeat of the Women's Reservation (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, chief minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal and BJP national vice-president Rekha Verma addressed a joint press conference on Sunday. Chief minister Yadav said that the Congress and opposition parties' defeating the Nari Shakti Vandan (Amendment) Act in Parliament amounts to a violation of women's rights. The state BJP has called an Akrosh rally to show women's outrage against the opposition parties here in the state capital on Monday. "Congress and opposition parties have opposed not a bill but the empowerment and rights of women. A Congress leader, who claims, Ladki hoon, ladh sakti hoon, has also insulted the nation's women by vehemently opposing women's reservation," the chief minister said. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly stated that he will not rest until women are granted their rights," he said. Yadav said that Akrosh rallies will also be taken out in the divisions and districts. A special one-day session will be called in the state assembly to discuss the bill that failed in the Lok Sabha and 33% reservations for women. He also said that the reservation quota will be implemented in all urban local bodies including nagar panchayats and municipalities. "The BJP demonstrates its actions, not just words," the chief minister argued. "In Madhya Pradesh, 17 districts have women collectors, and more than 10 districts have women SPs. In one district-- the collector, SP and other officers are all women. The BJP will inform the people across the state about who prevented women from achieving their rights. A special session of the Legislative Assembly will be convened in Madhya Pradesh regarding this issue," he said. State BJP president Hemant Khandelwal said that the opposition to women's reservation has exposed the anti-women mentality of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party. "The defeat of the reservation bill has exposed the true face of the opposition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the Reservation Bill to empower women. The people and women of this country will surely teach a lesson to political parties that opposed women's rights," Khandelwal said. BJP national vice president Rekha Verma said that Congress and other opposition parties supported the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in September 2023, owing to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 2024. "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a 33% reservation for the country's women in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, Congress and opposition parties revealed their true anti-women nature," Rekha Verma said. "The manner in which Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, DMK, and other opposition parties opposed the reservation bill in the Lok Sabha makes it clear that the opposition was already determined to deny women their rights, and that is why they opposed it in Parliament," she said.