Fadnavis announces drive to collect signatures in support of women’s quota

MAharashtra chief government minister Devendra Fadnavis on mon proclaimed a ride to call for over 10 million signatures from women in support of the 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies, calling April 17 “a black day for democracy”. He said the opposition parties on April 17 betrayed women by defeating the Constitution amendment bill to expand the size of the Lok Sabha and fast-track the reservation.Fadnavis vowed to build up such pressure from women on the Opposition that they would be compelled to support the bill. He added that Maharashtra’s ruling alliance will not rest until the bill is passed to ensure women’s reservation by 2029.Fadnavis said Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar or NCP – SP, and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s opposition to the Constitution amendment reflects an anti-women mindset. He called it an insult to India’s nearly 700 million women.Fadnavis said the Opposition went against the ideals of social reformers such as Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Bhimrao Ambedkar. He added that any opposition leader of his stature was free to discuss the alleged flaws and provisions in the bill on any public forum.Maharashtra’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party have announced the launch of a special awareness drive across the state from Tuesday. A women’s march will culminate in a rally in Mumbai on Tuesday. The three ruling parties will undertake campaigns individually and collectively across Maharashtra.NCP – SP lawmaker Supriya Sule accepted Fadnavis’s challenge and said she was ready for a public discussion. She asked Fadnavis to specify the time and venue. Sule said that she would present her party’s stand and respond to the allegations against the Opposition.Fadnavis, who announced the course of action at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday, rejected the criticism over the attempt to link delimitation with the Women’s Reservation Bill. “The Modi government was flexible enough to avoid a north-south divide and decided on a 50% increase in the existing seats in the states. This would have led to an increase in seats in the south, as their percentage of seats in the Lok Sabha would have gone to 23.87% from the existing 23.78%,” he said.Fadnavis alleged that the Opposition defeated the bills in the Lok Sabha last week as they saw an opportunity to push their anti-women agenda. “The 2023 bill was unanimously passed because the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] had a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha then...the bill was bound to be passed anyway. With the change in the strength of the ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha now, the Opposition revealed its true colours on women’s reservation,” he said.