Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao criticised the BJP over the Women's Reservation Bill, holding the ruling party entirely responsible for the setback in the Lok Sabha. He stated that the bill failed primarily because the BJP deliberately linked it with the contentious issue of delimitation, thereby derailing its passage. He said that all political parties, including the BRS, extended support to women's reservation, but the BJP's political approach ensured the bill did not succeed.
He alleged that by unnecessarily linking 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 led to the loss of a historic opportunity for women's empowerment. KTR said the people of the country 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.
On delimitation
He also said 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 increased seats in Jammu and 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.
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Koride Mahesh has been working with the Times of India, Hyderabad...
Read MoreKoride Mahesh has been working with the Times of India, Hyderabad for over two decades. He is currently senior assistant editor of TOI, Hyderabad. He holds PhD (doctorate) in Journalism and has a total of 32 years of experience in print journalism. He extensively writes on urban infrastructure, projects, civic issues, real estate market, land issues, energy, irrigation and state govt administration in Telangana. He also covers state political developments, especially BRS
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