Sonia leads Opposition charge; Modi’s women-led poll narrative faces roadblock  

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, September 20: The Opposition on Wednesday probed the seriousness of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to implement the women reservation bill. Leading the charge, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked, how many more years do the women need to wait for the reservation for them in parliament and assemblies?

Seeking to spurn a surprise on the Opposition, the Modi government brought the women reservation bill by building an intense suspense as the Opposition was not provided with the fine prints to sift the details even while Union Minister of State (Independent) Arjun Ram Meghwal rushed to introduce the legislative proposal. Modi had already staked claims for creating history for women.

While Meghwal conveniently chose not to mention the timeline for the implementation of the bill, Sonia Gandhi asked in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday: “How many more years do the women need to wait to see the reservation for them in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies taking shape; will it be three years, five years, eight years…”

Leader of the Janata Dal (United) Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh said that the Modi government brought the women reservation bill as a panic reaction against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

By pinning down the Modi government on the timeline of the implementation of the women reservation bill, the Opposition appears to have blunted the euphoria built by the BJP over the legislative action for which a well scripted event was executed with social media influencers roped in to amplify the narrative.

But the sceptics are seen watering down the BJP’s euphoria by arguing that the women reservation may have to wait for a much longer time to see the light of the day, as two conditions – Census 2021 and the Delimitation exercise – are still hidden in the darkness of future. While no aspect of the government work is now paused on the alibi of the Covid-19 pandemic, Census 2021 remains in deep freeze with the government not forthcoming to share the cogent reasons.

Delimitation exercise is also frozen until 2026, and it is likely to open a Pandora’s Box as enhancing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha could gain the wrath of the regional outfits in the southern states. Thus, the lack of the immediacy factor is seen denying the Modi government a runaway success with the women-centric narrative in the next Lok Sabha elections.         

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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