Cong Demands Immediate Passage OfWomen’s Bill, Delimitation BJP Ploy

Nagpur: All India Congress Committee national spokesperson Avani Bansal on Tuesday demanded immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill, accusing the BJP of using delimitation as a deliberate roadblock to delay giving women their rightful share in legislatures. She also pointedly asked why the RSS — headquartered in Nagpur — never included any women in its main organisation.Bansal, speaking as part of an AICC communications campaign running simultaneously across 27 constituencies across the country, said the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 with support from Congress and the entire opposition, yet it remains unimplemented. "If the BJP is serious about women's empowerment, the law must be implemented immediately on the existing 543 seats. There is no need to wait for delimitation," she said.She questioned govt's decision to link implementation to delimitation, calling it a constitutional complexity that required census data and wide stakeholder consultation — none of which the BJP undertook seriously, she said.Bansal alleged the BJP delayed 2021 census by six years and expressed suspicion the real motive was to avoid extending reservation to OBC women. Congress's demand was that SC, ST and OBC women all receive one-third reservation.Bansal took aim at the BJP's credentials on women's rights, asking where the party stood in the Hathras case, when women wrestlers took to the streets demanding action against a ruling party leader. She said govt operated on a "meri marzi" principle.She also questioned the special Parliament session called earlier this month, alleging it that was mere political theatrics.