Gehlot calls for all-party consensus on Women’s Reservation Bill

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has reiterated that the party has never been opposed to women’s reservation.

However, he stressed the need for convening an all-party meeting before taking up the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 and the related Constitutional amendment for consideration in a special session of Parliament.

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He said that consensus at an all-party meeting should still be pursued and achieved even now.

Amid the ruling dispensation’s nationwide campaign to garner support from opposition parties for the Bill, Gehlot asserted, “In fact, this is our issue—we conceptualised it, worked on it, and have always supported it. However, legislation on such a matter requires proper deliberation to build consensus or unanimity.”

The three-time former Chief Minister said the issue was the “brainchild” of former Prime Minister and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi, who initiated and developed it nearly 35 years ago.

He added that extensive consultations and prolonged discussions with opposition parties during that period ultimately paved the way, under the Narasimha Rao government, for laws providing 33% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies.

Gehlot noted that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 rests on the strong foundation of those 1993 laws and related Constitutional amendments.

Questioning the government’s urgency, he remarked, “We were never in haste. Why is the Prime Minister and the ruling dispensation in such a rush, especially during peak electioneering in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu? It appears there is an attempt to derive political benefit from the issue.”

He further criticised the approach of the ruling dispensation, saying it does not reflect seriousness in building consensus or engaging the opposition. “If the Bill was passed in 2023, why has it taken three years to move towards implementation? Why was there silence during this period?” he asked.

Gehlot added that in 2023 itself, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had demanded implementation of the law from the commencement of the 2024 Lok Sabha election process.

He said that even now, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Kharge have repeatedly called for convening an all-party meeting on April 29, after the conclusion of polling, to seek views and build consensus. “Just as the 2023 law was passed unanimously, a similar consensus can be achieved even now,” Gehlot said.