Yet another dream being sold by PM Modi for 2024 LS polls: Sibal on women's reservation bill
New Delhi (PTI): Former law minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday alleged that the women's reservation bill was "yet another dream" being sold by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and claimed that its benefits would accrue to women only in 2029.
Meeting a long-pending demand, the government on Tuesday introduced a bill to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
However, its implementation may still take some time and is unlikely to be in force for the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024 as the reservation will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise is completed.
Rajya Sabha MP Sibal said the bill has been introduced with a political motive and it was "baffling" for him to understand as to why this bill was introduced today, almost nine years and four months after the BJP government came to power in 2014.
"This has been the demand of most political parties for many years, even before 2014, that this bill be introduced in Parliament and passed. So, if Modi ji was genuinely interested in women's empowerment, he would have introduced the bill in 2014. Nothing stood in the way of it being passed," Sibal, who was the law minister from May 2013-May 2014, told PTI.
Almost all political parties in Parliament have been demanding that the bill be introduced and passed, he pointed out.
"When it was introduced by the Congress in 2010, the party did not have an absolute majority and therefore, it could not be passed," he said.
"We would then have not had to wait till 2029 for women to be empowered. Obviously it was passed with a political motive for taking credit just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections though the benefit of it to women will accrue only in 2029. Even that is contingent upon two considerations -- the census takes place and the delimitation of constituencies happens in 2026 which will change the nature of Parliament and political power in India," Sibal said.
"If those conditions are not satisfied, I wonder what the fate of the bill will be. Therefore, the passing of the bill is yet another dream being sold by Modi ji for the 2024 elections, just as he did the other day by setting aside Rs 13,000 crore for the Vishwakarma scheme for artisans," the former Congress leader said.
Earlier this morning, before the bill was introduced by the government, Sibal had attacked the government, asking why did Prime Minister Modi wait for almost 10 years for it.
In a post on X, Sibal had said, "Women's Reservation Bill: Wonder why Modi ji, if introduced, waited for almost 10 years when almost all political parties are in support? 2024 is perhaps the reason."
"But if the government does not provide quota for OBC women, BJP may also lose UP in 2024! Think about it!" he said.
Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and 2 regimes, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
