Women’s quota Bill: From Sonia Gandhi, Kanimozhi to Smriti Irani – here’s what lawmakers said

Here is what they had to say:

1. 01

   Congress leader Sonia Gandhi

   Demanding immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, while extending her party’s support to the bill, said that a provision should be made for the reservation for OBC women.

   "It is the demand of the Indian National Congress that the bill be immediately implemented... but, along with that, provision should be made for the reservation of SC, ST, OBC women after conducting a caste census," she said.

   "On behalf of the Indian National Congress, I demand from the government that the Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 be implemented as soon as possible while clearing all roadblocks in its way. Doing this is not only necessary but also possible," she stated in the parliament.

   Gandhi lauded the contribution of leaders like Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kripalani, Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and said they always ensured that the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Sardar Patel, Baba Saheb Ambedkar were realised on ground.

   Mentioning her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, she said that he brought the constitutional amendment for participation of women in local bodies for the first time, but it was defeated in the Rajya Sabha by seven votes.

   “Later, the Congress government under the leadership of Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao got it passed," Gandhi said.

   Today, as a result of that, there are 15 lakh elected women leaders through local bodies across the country, she added.

2. 02

   NCP leader Supriya Sule

   Declaring her party’s full support to the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, NCP leader Supriya Sule raised the issue of not extending the said reservation to OBC women.

   “Let’s make a constitutional amendment and send a message to the nation that we are committed to SC/ST and OBC,” she said while speaking in Parliament.

   While acknowledging former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for initiating the Women’s policy in India, she also said that her father Sharad Pawar was the first one to implement the 33% reservation for women under the Panchayati Raj Act.

   “I say this with extreme pride that the women’s policy was first initiated in the Congress under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi and I am fortunate to say that it was my father who implemented in Maharashtra the Panchayati Raj 33 % reservation for women.”

   DMK MP Kanimozhi and NCP MP Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha during the special session of the Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (PTI Photo)

   Sule also called out former BJP Maharashtra chief for telling her "Supriya Sule... ghar jaao, khana banao. Desh koi aur chala lega (Supriya Sule... go home, cook food. Someone else will run the country,” during a television debate

   "This is what the BJP's mindset is..." she said.

   The NCP leader also stated that the bill will not be effective unless “we conduct the delimitation and census exercise.”

   “Unless we have delimitation and census we are not going to get it. The date of the next census and delimitation is indeterminate and the reservation is highly dependent on these two factors. So what is the date and timeline for this?” Sule asked.

   Quoting what Mahatma Gandhi said regarding the Cripps Mission to India being a post dated cheque drawn from a crashing bank, Sule said that this (bill) is then a post dated cheque given by the government.

3. 03

   SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal

   Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday criticized the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha and accused it of misleading women of the country by bringing a reservation bill for them that will take a long time to come into effect.

   "You can do demonetisation in hours, pass GST, why can't you implement women's reservation bill... in the next election?" she asked.

   Attacking the government over the increase in crimes against women in the country, she said, “In the last five years, there has been a 26 per cent increase in crime against women. That is why an incident like in Manipur happens and the government opens its mouth only when a no-confidence motion is brought.”

   Referring to former Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women wrestlers, Badal said, “A minister from Haryana is accused of sexual assault, but is enjoying cabinet status...”

   Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal speaks in the Lok Sabha during the special session of the Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (PTI Photo)

   “Women wrestlers, who brought so many medals, have been sitting for months but the Bahubali is still sitting here," she said.

   Badal alleged that 305 MPs in the Lok Sabha had criminal cases like rape, murder with 45 per cent being from the ruling party. “And these people talk about Beti Bachao," she said.

   Badal also question why the bill was not brought earlier by BJP and only at the fag end of its tenure.

4. 04

   DMK leader Kanimozhi

   Participating in the discussion on the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, DMK leader Kanimozhi said the clause pertaining to 'after delimitation' in the bill should be removed because it would lead to a delay in its implementation.

   “The clause pertaining to 'after delimitation' in the bill should be removed as there could be an inordinate delay in the implementation of the reservation for women,” she said.

   The DMK leader said that the bill was not just about reservation but an "act of removing bias and injustice”.

   "How long should we wait to see this bill implemented? It can be easily implemented in the coming Parliamentary elections. This bill, you should understand, is not a reservation but an act of removing bias and injustice," she said.

   Kanimozhi further stated that she had no hesitation in accepting the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who was also the head of DMK’s rival AIADMK, was a “very strong woman.”

5. 05

   BJP leader Smriti Irani

   Responding to the Opposition parties’ demand for immediately implementing the Women’s Reservation Bill, Union Minister Smriti Irani questioned whether the parties wished to follow the constitutional process or not.

   "Is it the wish of opposition leaders that constitutional process is not followed? Should we not abide by the Constitution? Is that the position taken by the opposition parties?" she said.

   Union Minister for Minority Affairs Smriti Irani speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Special Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI Photo/Sansad TV)

   Irani also hit out at the Samajwadi party for demanding reservation for minorities. She questioned if they did not know that reservation based on religion is "prohibited" by the constitution.

   Stepping up an attack on the Gandhi family, she said that it was not one particular family which got the bill for reservation for women in local bodies. “It was not one particular family which got the bill for reservation for women in local bodies, but the government of PV Narasimha Rao, whose mortal remains were not allowed to enter the Congress office here,” she said.