'Devil Lies In Details': Former BJP Ally SAD Lashes Out At Centre Over Women's Reservation Bill
Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the initial euphoria around the tabling of the Women's Reservation Bill petered out as the “details” came out.
New Delhi: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday lashed out at the Centre over the tabling of the Women's Reservation Bill, questioning its intent to implement it across the country. During a debate on the draft legislation in the Lok Sabha, the former Union Minister said 78 women members had to face a long and hard battle with the male counterparts to reach the Parliament but their dreams of reservation were “dashed in 24 hours” from the tabling of the Bill.
Claiming that “in the details lie the devil”, the Lok Sabha member belonging to the former BJP ally, said, “In a House of 543 MPs, it took 78 of us (women MPs) to fight long and hard battle against thousands of men to eventually reach this House....When we learnt that the Women's Reservation Bill was being brought, the hopes and expectations were high. But they were dashed in 24 hours.”
#WATCH | SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal speaks in debate on Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023
"In a House of 543 MPs, it takes 78 of us (women MPs) who have fought against thousands of men to eventually reach this House....When it was known that the Women's Reservation Bill was… pic.twitter.com/tnddGJMEDL
She said that the initial euphoria around the tabling of the Bill petered out as the “details” came out, adding that the draft legislation will only come into effect after a census and a delimitation exercise.
Questioning why it took the Centre 9.5 years to introduce the Bill in the House, Badal said, “It later came out that the Bill will only come into effect after the census and delimitation take place…Why did you (Centre) take 9.5 years to bring the Bill? Today, there is no final date as to when women will get 33% reservation in this House.”
The MP claimed that if the government had the “right intent”, the census wouldn’t have been delayed since 2021.
Alleging further that women members have been “cheated” once again, she questioned why the Centre had to introduce the draft legislation when there are questions on how soon it could be implemented.
Devil in the detail came across. The census was to be held in 2021 and now 2023 is about to end and it hasn't been done yet and we don't know when will it happen. After the census, delimitation will take place and then this #WomenReservationBill will be implemented. Why did you… pic.twitter.com/jyKajBXyvH
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) September 20, 2023
“The census was to be held in 2021 and now 2023 is about to end and it still hasn't been done yet. We don't know when it will happen. After the census, a delimitation exercise will take place and only then will this Women Reservation Bill be implemented. Why did you bring this Bill when you cannot implement it anytime soon? This male-dominated parliament has betrayed women yet again,” Badal told ANI.
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