Priyanka Chaturvedi Hits Out At Amit Shah Over Women's Quota Bill Remarks

Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "His (Amit Shah's) statement was hypocritical as the BJP made an electoral commitment to women 9 years ago, in its manifesto for the 2014 (Lok Sabha) elections, to bring a women's reservation law.

Coming down heavily on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks explaining the rationale behind the formation of a Delimitation Committee amid calls from the Opposition to implement the draft women's quota law at the earliest, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday said his statement was "hypocritical" as a promise made in the BJP's 2014 manifesto for a Bill that had been in limbo for long, took 9 years to clear the first legislative hurdle in Parliament.

Speaking to ANI after the draft legislation was passed by a brute majority in the Lok Sabha, Ms Chaturvedi said, "His (Amit Shah's) statement was hypocritical as the BJP made an electoral commitment to women 9 years ago, in its manifesto for the 2014 (Lok Sabha) elections, to bring a women's reservation law. Despite them (BJP) being the largest single party (in the 2014 and 2019 LS polls) and many in the Opposition raising a chorus for the Bill, it took them 9 years to bring it to fruition. It was hypocritical also because of the (contentious) clause that the implementation of the law is subject to a census and a delimitation exercise. The census has been delayed since 2021."

Earlier, on Wednesday, Amit Shah, during the debate on the women's reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, said the census and delimitation exercises would be conducted after the Lok Sabha polls next year and the women's quota law will come into effect thereafter.