New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government for “purposely linking” the proposed Delimitation Bill with the Women’s Reservation Bill.

His reaction came after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was not allowed to pass through the lower House of the Parliament on Friday.

After two days of heated debate, the Bill secured 298 votes in favour and 230 against, but still failed to cross the two-thirds majority threshold required for constitutional amendments.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Tharoor said, “We objected to the linking of the (Women’s Reservation) Bill with delimitation. That is a very important issue. It raises fundamental issues for the future of the country, for India’s unity, India’s democracy, and those have to be discussed in a very serious way, not in the two-day session.”

“Women’s reservation we should have passed but delimitation we should not have passed. The Union government purposely linked them all together, which was wrong. That’s the issue,” he asserted.

However, Tharoor clarified that the Congress is “not opposed to women’s reservation”.

The Congress MP said, “We are willing to pass the 33 per cent women’s reservation with immediate effect, without any further delay. If they (Centre) want to bring a new bill in the Monsoon session, we will pass it.”

Tharoor also emphasised, “Do not link it (Women’s Reservation Bill) with delimitation and it requires a serious discussion.”

Meanwhile, Congress MP Kumari Selja accused the BJP-led NDA alliance of “spreading confusion” among people of the country.

Echoing similar view to that of Tharoor, Selja told IANS, “Since the Women’s Reservation Bill was unanimously passed (in 2023), from then till now, what were they doing? Even the notification was issued just one night before, at around 10 p.m.”

She accused the BJP of trying to make women’s reservation an “election issue”.

“In the garb of women they (Centre) are messing with the nation. There is only politics in all this, nothing else,” she alleged

Selja also made it clear that the Opposition should not be blamed since “we had already passed the Bill”.

–IANS

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