SP, Cong opposing women reservation bill to protect dynastic politics: UP BJP chief

Lucknow: UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary on Wednesday accused the SP and Congress of opposing the Women’s Reservation Bill to protect dynastic politics.

Addressing a press conference in Noida, Chaudhary said parties thriving on family-based politics were uncomfortable with greater political participation of women. “If women take responsibility, family patronage politics will come to an end,” he said.

He said Modi govt brought the women’s bill to ensure that women from “common” families could become MLAs and MPs. The UP BJP chief alleged that the opposition celebrated the failure of the bill and said their resistance reflected hostility to women’s empowerment. “They have opposed not just a bill, but a historic transformation in women’s lives,” he said.

Chaudhary accused opposition parties of hypocrisy over women’s issues, citing their earlier opposition to the Triple Talaq legislation in India.

He said their recent demand for separate reservation for Muslim women was also politically motivated.

UP BJP chief asserted that his party remained fully committed to women’s rights and social advancement. He said party workers would continue to support the Prime Minister’s vision of women-led development.

Hailing Noida as one of the fastest-developing urban centres in the country, Chaudhary said women played a major role in its economic progress. He noted that thousands of companies and industries in the city employ a large number of women.

Alleging that women faced insecurity in Uttar Pradesh under previous govts, Chaudhary said that after the BJP formed govt in UP, steps were taken to improve law and order, strengthen administrative accountability and ensure safety for women in cities.

Chaudhary claimed that the number of working women in the state had grown significantly over the last nine years under the ‘double-engine’ govt.