‘Not a political tool for BJP’: Amit Shah’s scathing response to criticisms about Women’s Reservation Bill

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday defended the newly introduced Women’s Reservation Bill and said that 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assembles was the “need of the hour” and “not just about politics” for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre. Reiterating that the passage of the women’s reservation bill will mark the beginning of a new era in the country’s democratic set-up, Shah said women’s security, respect and equal participation have been the focus of the Union government since PM Modi took charge two terms earlier. He also recalled that the prime minister had put forth a vision of women-led progress in the recently concluded G20 Summit held under India’s presidency. Taking a sharp jab at the Opposition’s criticisms regarding the bill which was tabled yesterday in Parliament, the Home Minister said that women’s empowerment was not a political tool for his party and or its leader Prime Minister Modi. “For some political parties, women’s empowerment is a political agenda, but for the BJP it is not,” Shah said addressing lawmakers in Parliament during the debate over the new bill. “This is a golden moment in India’s history. Yesterday, we entered the new parliament on Ganesh Chaturthi and the women’s quota bill was also presented in the Lok Sabha. I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for honouring women. The women of India will now have a role to play in policymaking,” Shah said. “This bill will ensure the participation of women in decision-making, and policy-making in the country. The day Modiji became the Prime Minister of this country, there were 70 crore people of this country who did not have bank accounts in their names. Modiji started Jan Dhan Yojana. 52 crore bank accounts were opened, out of which 70% were opened in the name of mothers,” Shah told the members of parliament present in the House. “Parliamentarians are currently elected in 3 categories of General, SC, ST; of which we have reserved one-third seats for women in each of them,” the home minister said, adding that the Modi government has 29 OBC ministers, while the party has 85 OBC MPs. . Shah also reminded the gathering that “whoever lives in this country, whose roots are connected to India, cannot make the mistake of considering women as weak.”: “As soon as this constitutional amendment is passed by both the Houses with everyone’s co-operation, one-third seats in the Lok Sabha of the country and the Legislative Assemblies of all the states of the country will be reserved for women,” the home minister said.