Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at a press conference here on Monday that the BJP will not rest until women get their rightful place in the legislatures and Parliament.
“The vote of public opinion will be shown to the Opposition by collecting signatures of 1 crore women from every corner of Maharashtra. Soon, a big rally will be held with the participation of allies so that the anti-women power politics of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Congress will stand exposed. The BJP will not rest until women get their rightful place,” Fadnavis said.
He noted that the role of women is becoming decisive in all advanced democratic nations of the world. However, in India, when it comes to giving legal rights to women, the opposition creates obstacles. In this context, he accused the Opposition of consistently trying to prevent the implementation of 33 per cent reservation in the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha like in local bodies. “This is their old tendency and it is now clear that they do not want to give women a share in power,” he asserted.
“While increasing women’s participation in democracy is the need of the hour, the Opposition has killed this process. The mentality of the political parties opposing the Nari Shakti Vandana Act is regressive. We will show the public who are the killers of women’s reservation,” the chief minister added.
Pointing out that today, there are only 73 women in our Parliament, he said if women’s reservation had been implemented, this number would have reached 273. “If such a huge power had reached Parliament, the influence of women in the country’s policies would have increased. However, the Congress and its allies have created obstacles in the way of this change,” he lamented.
“This Bill would have greatly benefited not only general women, but also women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The number of reserved seats in these categories would also have increased significantly. The Opposition has not only opposed women’s reservation but has also used the axe on the political progress of women from Dalit and tribal communities,” he contended.