In a fiery address during a special five-day Parliament session, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra expressed her frustration with the Narendra Modi government regarding the delay in implementing the women’s reservation bill. The bill, which aims to provide one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, faced strong criticism from Moitra, who questioned whether women were considered “less than cows” due to the protracted timeline for its implementation.
Moitra’s comments came as the Lok Sabha debated the women’s reservation bill, which has been a longstanding demand of women’s rights advocates in India. She pointed out that the uncertainty surrounding the implementation timeline was deeply concerning. “Are we women less than cows that we need to wait while you count and draw lines? We don’t need any more vandanas. Thank you very much. What we need is direct action. Honourable Prime Minister, this is your time to show us all that Modi hai toh mumkin hai,” she asserted.
One of the primary issues highlighted by Moitra was the reliance on the census and delimitation exercises, which could significantly delay the realization of women’s reservation. She noted that the lack of clarity regarding the date of the next census and the subsequent delimitation process meant that the reservation might not become a reality even by 2029.
Moitra expressed both pride and frustration, stating, “It is my pride that I belong to the All India Trinamool Congress, a party that sent 37% women among its members to Parliament. But it is my chagrin that I belong to a Lok Sabha that, on aggregate, has only 15% of its members as women, far below the global average of 26.5% and also below the Asian regional average of 21%.”
The Lok Sabha did pass the women’s reservation bill with near unanimity during the session. However, the opposition demanded the extension of similar benefits to Other Backward Classes and immediate implementation of the measure before the upcoming elections. Moitra referred to the bill as a ‘jumla’ and called it a ‘women’s reservation rescheduling bill’ due to the perceived delays in its implementation.
While the bill’s passage was celebrated as a groundbreaking move, the timing and uncertainty surrounding its execution have raised concerns among advocates for gender equality in India. Moitra’s impassioned speech underscored the urgency of taking concrete steps to ensure that women’s participation in politics is not further delayed by bureaucratic processes.
