Sonia Gandhi Women Quota Bill: ‘Deeply flawed’: Sonia Gandhi slams women’s quota bill, calls it ‘assault on Constitution’ | India News
In an article published in The Hindu, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP argued that any exercise to increase the power of the Lok Sabha must be “politically and not just mathematically justified”, stressing that states that have performed well in population control must not suffer.He also accused the government of rushing into legislation to “gain political leverage and put the opposition on the defensive” during the ongoing election cycle in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.“There can only be one reason for the extraordinary haste,” he said, alleging political gain. He accused the Prime Minister of being “economic with the truth”.
Women’s reservation ‘not an issue’, says Congress
Referring to the Nari Sakthi Bandan Adhiniyam, 2023, Sonia pointed out that the Parliament had already unanimously passed the Act in September 2023, linking the reservation of women to future censuses and the exercise of restrictions under Article 334-A.“The opposition did not want this condition,” he said, adding that the Congress had been pushing for its implementation since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He questioned the reported move to amend the provision to enable implementation from 2029, asking why the government was taking a “U-turn” after 30 months.He also pointed out that Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharg demanded immediate implementation, which the government rejected.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi echoed his concerns, saying the risks of “hasty restrictions” were at the heart of the debate.Sonia also highlighted that the Act provides “reservation within reservation” for SCs and STs and pointed out that similar demands were raised for reservation of OBC women during the 2023 debate.
Census delay, caste enumeration under fire
The former Lok Sabha MP also linked the issue to the delay in the census, noting that the 2021 exercise had been postponed and that counting had started recently after a delay of five years. He added that the delay has deprived more than 10 crore people of their legal rights under the National Food Security Act, 2013.He argued that claims that a caste census would slow down the process were baseless, citing the rapid surveys conducted by states like Bihar and Telangana. He also cited officials’ statement that most of the 2027 census data would be available in the same year due to its digital format, calling the government’s urgency “hollow”.Alleging inconsistencies, he said the government had earlier rejected a caste census before announcing it as part of the 2027 census. “The prime minister’s real intention now is to further delay and derail the census,” he claimed
The government is proceeding through a special session
The comments came ahead of a special Parliament session between April 16 and 18, where amendments related to women’s reservations are expected. The government is also considering a separate delimitation bill, which could increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816, according to estimates.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a ‘Nari Shakti Bandan Conference’ in New Delhi, aimed at building support for increasing women’s representation in the legislature.The former Congress president said opposition leaders had written thrice for an all-party meeting after April 29 to discuss the proposals, but the request was turned down. He criticized the government instead of op-eds and public campaigns, calling it an “underhand strategy” reflecting a “my way or the highway” approach.He also argued that there was no urgent need, noting that the Monsoon Session begins in mid-July and proposals can be discussed after extensive discussions and public debate.Sonia, however, maintained that the process being followed was “deeply flawed and anti-democratic,” insisting that “reservation for women is not the issue here… the real issue is restriction.”“Reservation for women is not the issue here. It has already been settled. The real issue is the restriction which, based on information available informally, is extremely dangerous and an attack on the Constitution itself,” wrote Sonia.
