Hyderabad, April 19 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour & Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, on Sunday accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of not only betraying the women of the country but also the entire South India.

Addressing a press conference here, she said that April 17 will go down in the history of Indian women as a dark day.

She claimed that the NDA government had introduced the Delimitation Bill — alongside the 33 per cent reservation Bill long sought by women — specifically to safeguard the interests of the southern states.

She clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s objective was to provide protection to the southern states — which have been diligent in practising population control — to ensure that they face no injustice following future census exercises.

She said that when these Bills failed in Parliament, leaders of the Congress and INDIA alliance parties, casting aside national interests, celebrated the failure as if it were a festival. She remarked that their laughter and embraces served as proof of a conspiracy to divide the nation along North-South lines.

She stated that the Opposition, in its blind opposition to the PM Modi-led government, has ignored the significance of the Women’s Reservation Bill and the rightful aspirations of women. In its pursuit of power, Congress and its allies have effectively stood against women, once again delaying their long-pending rightful representation in legislative bodies, she said.

Shobha Karandlaje expressed deep anguish over the fact that, despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking in Parliament with the intention of ensuring justice for South India — proposing to increase seats for every state by 50 per cent and offering to introduce a new Bill if given just one hour — the Congress and INDIA bloc parties rejected the proposal.

She criticised them for acting solely for their own political gain, in a manner that is bound to further exacerbate regional divisions in the future.

She alleged that the INDIA bloc has betrayed South India by blocking the proposal to increase the number of parliamentary seats in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

She charged that the INDIA bloc thwarted the opportunity for Telangana to see its MP seats rise from 17 to 26, and for Andhra Pradesh to go from 25 to 38.

She lashed out at the A. Revanth Reddy-led government in Telangana, highlighting what she termed the failures of Congress rule and the injustices inflicted upon the public.

She expressed outrage that the Congress has failed to fulfil a single promise made during the last elections — including financial assistance of Rs 2,500 for women, electric scooters for female students, unemployment allowances for the jobless, an increase in Asara pensions, and the provision of one tola of gold for married daughters.

The minister accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of making inappropriate remarks against PM Modi solely to appease the party’s High Command, and charged that, having failed to implement his promises, he is effectively “pickpocketing” the people of the state.

She stated that, under the leadership of PM Modi, significant priority has been accorded to women’s empowerment over the past decade.

Karandlaje noted that, in addition to initiatives concerning education, scholarships and insurance schemes, 60 per cent of Mudra loans and 53 per cent of MSME subsidies have been extended specifically to women.

–IANS

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