Union Minister Pralhad Joshi accused Congress and the INDIA bloc of betraying women and SC/ST communities by opposing the women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha. He said their opposition showed they never had good intentions.
Joshi Accuses Congress of Betrayal
Us. nion Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Congress and the INDIA bloc, accusing them of opposing women's reservation and "betraying" women and marginalised communitie Speaking to ANI, Joshi said, "Recently, what Congress has done in Lok Sabha, opposing the women's reservation bill, for which we require a two-thirds majority. So we wanted the help of the Congress party and the Communist parties. But the Congress party and the INDIA alliance betrayed the total women's community. They never had a good intention."
Joshi further alleged that while the government supported the bill when it was introduced earlier, the Congress has "betrayed women and SC/ST communities from the beginning".
He further said, "In 2010, we passed the bill, which was brought by the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha, but again, they did not bring it to the Lok Sabha. They are against OBC and SC because Pandit Nehru opposed the SC reservation. When they brought the bill in 2010, we supported it. They have betrayed women, they have betrayed SC/ST. This is their attitude from the beginning."
Bill Fails to Pass in Lok Sabha
On April 17, Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha voted against the Constitution Amendment Bill.
During the three-day Special Session from April 16 to April 18, multiple leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, discussed the bill.
Multiple Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and Congress leader KC Venugopal, also participated in the discussion.
The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill to implement women's reservation failed to pass in the Lok Sabha as the INDIA bloc refused to vote in favour of the delimitation process. The Lok Sabha took up the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill together for passing.
In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill following the debate on the three bills, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against. With the Constitution Amendment Bill defeated, the government later said it did not want to pursue the two other linked bills since they were interrelated. (ANI)
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