Bhopal, April 26 (IANS) Amid an intensifying political face-off between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress over the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam Bill issue, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) will organise a protest march in Bhopal on Sunday, seeking to build public pressure for immediate enforcement of the law.

The march will commence at 4 p.m. from Platinum Plaza and pass through Top & Town and New Market before culminating at Roshanpura Square. The party said the mobilisation is intended to highlight what it describes as the BJP government’s ‘anti-women stance’ and to expose the delay in operationalising the reservation framework.

Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari, along with several other senior leaders of the party, will lead the march.

“The Congress will fight from the streets to Parliament for the immediate implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, without linking it to delimitation,” the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee said in a statement.

The Congress has also demanded that the reservation framework ensure equitable representation for women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Reinforcing its position, Patwari cited the legacy of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, noting that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments enabled large-scale participation of women in Panchayats and urban local bodies. He also recalled that the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 under Manmohan Singh.

The BJP, however, has strongly defended the legislation, terming it a historic reform for women’s empowerment. The party maintains that the implementation of the Act is constitutionally tied to the completion of the next census and the subsequent delimitation exercise, which are required to determine constituency-wise reservation.

This divergence has led to a sustained political confrontation, with both parties projecting contrasting narratives — Congress accusing the Centre of delaying tactics, while the BJP argues that the due constitutional process must be followed.

Against this backdrop, the issue is poised to dominate the one-day special session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly on April 27. The Congress party has already convened a meeting of its MLAs to fine-tune its legislative strategy and coordinate its response, signalling that it will raise the matter prominently and challenge the BJP government’s position inside the House.

With the ruling party expected to defend its stance and the opposition preparing an aggressive push, the Assembly session is likely to witness sharp exchanges over the timing, intent and implementation of women’s reservation.

Political observers note that the ongoing face-off over the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has evolved into a broader political and policy debate, encompassing questions of constitutional procedure, representation, and electoral positioning, as both parties seek to shape public opinion on women’s empowerment ahead of future political contests.

–IANS

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