Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday launched a scathing attack on the opposition parties following the legislative setback to the Women’s Reservation Bill. The Chief Minister characterised the recent parliamentary outcome as a “Black Day” for reformist politics, expressing disappointment over the failure of the 131st Amendment Bill to secure a two-thirds majority.

“I am speaking today on a matter of extreme importance. As you are aware, there was great hope that April 17 would be a landmark day in the political and social journey of our nation — a day we could call a ‘Watershed Movement’ in Indian history, as the Women’s Reservation Bill was slated for approval. We expected everyone to support this cause,” he said at the press conference. He was accompanied by Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe and state Women and Child Welfare Minister Aditi Tatkare.

However, unfortunately, parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, UBT(Shiv Sena), Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and the Samajwadi Party displayed a deeply anti-women mindset and prevented the Bill from securing the necessary two-thirds majority. In doing so, they betrayed 70 crore women and committed the ‘foeticide’ of this Bill, he claimed.

“The celebration they held after killing the Bill in this manner was, in reality, a ‘Taandav’ (a dance of destruction) over the ideals of India’s great social reformers. It pains me deeply that in the year we are observing the 200th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, these parties have abandoned his principles. All these parties, who only use Phule’s name in their speeches, now stand completely exposed,” said the CM.

He announced a massive state-wide outreach campaign. “We will collect the signatures of one crore women across Maharashtra in support of this Bill. Alongside this, we will conduct awareness campaigns at the taluka level. The Bharatiya Party has organised a convention for this purpose, where we will invite our allies. Through these awareness programs, we aim to expose the true faces of the Congress, Sharad Pawar, and UBT(Shiv Sena) regarding their stance on this issue. We will generate such a massive surge of public opinion that they will be forced to approve the Women’s Reservation Bill. We will not rest until women receive the reservation they deserve,” he noted.

Targeting a massive scale of one crore women to demonstrate grassroots support, CM Fadnavis said that the objective is to move beyond major cities to focus on Taluka-level (sub-district) awareness. The CM emphasised that Maharashtra’s 2029 Assembly elections were intended to be the first under this new quota. He assured that despite the setback in the Lower House, the state government remains committed to implementing gender-inclusive policies.

He announced that the Mahayuti coalition will initiate state-wide protests and a “Mega Rally” in Mumbai on April 30 to hold the opposition accountable for the bill’s defeat.

CM Fadnavis framed the date of the vote (April 17) as a missed opportunity for a historic “watershed” moment in Indian democracy.

–IANS

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