One of the greatest aspects of the Indian Constitution that everyone needs to be reminded of from time to time is that, at a time when literacy levels were abysmally low and large swathes of the population facing all kinds of backwardness, the right to vote was granted to every Indian, irrespective of status or gender. This was the level of respect accorded by the Constitution makers to the Indian people, who had displayed extraordinary political maturity during the freedom struggle.
Despite this fact, on the historic occasion of the shift from the old Parliament building (now to be known as Samvidhan Sadan) to the new, women belonging to the SC/ST category were disrespected by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, by stating that ‘all’ parties give tickets to such women on the condition that they remain silent and inactive. He was speaking in the context of the women’s reservation bill presented, earlier, in the Lok Sabha by the Prime Minister. It is not clear what political point he wanted to make, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rightly pointed out that this was an absurd statement made by a person belonging to a party that had a woman President for many years.
Clearly, opposition parties are miffed at the prospect of the political advantage that may accrue to the BJP after successful passage of the bill. Each has raised objections. The AAP alleges it is a mirage as it would come into force after the delimitation process and has an expiry date of fifteen years. Others are raising the old demand that there be a quota within the reservation for OBCs, also. It may be recalled that, when the bill had been brought, some years ago, RJD leader Lalu Prasad had claimed only ‘par-katti’ women would benefit (educated and urban women). AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has demanded a similar quota for Muslim women.
So, Parliament was at its quarrelsome best even on a momentous day for Indian democracy. Even as most parties have promised to support the bill, they are doing everything possible to deny the ruling NDA the credit for having taken the initiative on a long sought demand. It cannot be denied, however, that Prime Minister Modi has once again taken the battle into the opposition’s ranks. Indeed, it is very likely that the INDI Alliance may see serious differences on extending support to the bill. It is truly between a rock and a hard place.
