‘Cowardly, hypocritical and fork-tongued’: Mamata Banerjee hits back at PM Modi over women’s reservation bill | India News
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday hit back at criticism from opposition parties, including the TMC, over the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Women’s Reservation Bill.In a lengthy message shared on social media, he accused the Prime Minister of misleading the nation by not addressing his concerns directly. He also defended his team, All India Trinamool CongressSays it has consistently supported women’s political representation.“It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to mislead the nation instead of addressing it honestly,” he wrote, adding that the Trinamool Congress has the highest proportion of women representatives in Parliament and state assemblies. “There is no question of opposing women’s reservation and never was,” he said.Mamata, however, clarified that her party opposes the proposed restriction exercise, alleging that the Center is using women’s reservation for political gains to push it. “What we fundamentally oppose is the exercise of restraint that the Modi government is plotting to use as a shield for its ulterior political agenda,” he wrote.Claiming such steps would change the constitution, he said, “This is an attack on federal democracy. And we will not let it happen in silence.” Questioning the timing of the bill, the West Bengal chief minister asked why the government delayed its implementation after the bill was passed in September 2023 and why it was being added to the limitation. He also criticized the Prime Minister for not directly addressing Parliament. “Next time you address the nation, have the courage to do it from the floor of Parliament,” he wrote, calling his comments “cowardly, hypocritical and tongue-in-cheek”.“What you did yesterday was cowardice, hypocrisy and cowardice. You can feel power slipping through your fingers. And you are ready to go to any length to hold on a little longer,” he said.His reaction came after Prime Minister Modi blamed opposition parties for blocking the bill in his address to the nation on Saturday night. “For us, national interests come first. But for some people, when party interests become everything, women’s empowerment and nation’s interests suffer,” she said, adding, “The selfish politics of parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC and SP have cost the women of this country.”
