1. As the mother of democracy with a journey spanning thousands of years, India had the
opportunity to add a new dimension to this journey. We brought this bill to make half of the
country’s population active participants in the policymaking process. We urged all MPs not to let this opportunity pass. Together, we were poised to give a new direction to the nation. This was a Maha-Yagya for Bharat’s Nari Shakti.
2. We were confident that the outcome of this Mahay-Yagya would have shaped not only the future of politics but also the direction and destiny of the country.
3. However, the selfish opposition, which delayed the participation of our women in policymaking for 30 years, has once again failed the women of this nation . They failed the nation. In their desperation to protect their political turf, the self-centered politics of INDI Alliance once againcame to the forefront and women’s interests were sacrificed yet again.
4. Your grandmother waited for this. Your mother hoped for this. Congress and its allies made your daughters wait another 30 years! This isn’t about seats; it’s about the Dignity of the Indian Home finally reaching the Temple of Democracy .
5. We should be clear about what the opposition has prevented from happening. They have
hamstrung the political representation of Indian women at the highest levels . They protected their political self-interests by preventing the women of our country (50% of our country’s population) from having a seat at the table.
6. This was not a political move. This was never meant to be. What the opposition has done is publicly display their hatred and contempt for women occupying the highest offices of the
land and brazenly displaying their orthodox misogynist mindset of doubting the competence of women in top policy-making roles.
7. We should have seen it coming. The Congress party has traditionally maintained a clear
anti-women stance, inspired – and to some extent, threatened – by its orthodox allies and
tutors . PM Rajiv Gandhi stabbed Muslim women in the back when he overruled the Supreme Court’s order, mandating Muslim men to provide alimony to their wives. The Maulanas created an uproar and Rajiv Gandhi withdrew hastily. Even this massive injustice took Narendra Modi to correct, when the ghost of Shah Bano reversal was finally buried, as the NDA Government banned Triple Talaq.
8. Today, the same Congress party and its regressive leaders have delivered a bodyblow to the cause of women’s representation and equality. B. The Farce of Panchayat Reservations
9. The opposition attempts to hide its politics by falsely taking credit for the reservation for women in panchayats. What they conveniently leave out is that they easily agreed to reservation in Panchayats because it did not threaten their own positions. But they did not let this happen at the legislative level.
10. Opposition has always been just pretending to be in support of this bill. Each and every time they would say “We are in support of this, but,” so there is always a “but/Kintu/Parantu ” .
11. There is always some technicality they bring up to oppose this bill and they did it again. This time they tried to hide behind their agenda of sowing discord, disharmony, and suspicion within the united Indian family. They tried to divide India along the lines of North and South while conveniently shielding their anti-women character. For the opposition, women’s rights and reservation is a matter of a joke and political convenience. We saw it unfolding today. C. The Historical Precedent of Misogyny
12. The Congress-led opposition had left behind a huge mess on multiple fronts . In 2014 when PM Modi came to power, Indian women were in a dire situation . They were forced to defecate inthe open. They didn’t have gas cylinders; there was no water supply. Crores of Indian households were forced to sleep in the open due to a lack of houses. Women were not connected to the banking system nor did they have access to formal credit
.
13. All of this and much more were solved over the last ten to twelve years by Prime Minister Modi . All the opposition did was mock, criticize, and sabotage these efforts . Today in a stunningly shameless display of selfish political interests taking priority over women’s
welfare , when the government attempted to ensure that women rising through the grassrootsof this country get their rightful seat inside the country’s parliament and legislative assemblies, the opposition derailed it once again.
14. They can try to explain it with technicalities but the truth remains that the cause of Indian women’s progress has taken a massive hit . The women of this country will never forgive those who made this happen.
15. It was never about political credit seeking for us. Rather we sought support from the entire parliament. We promised the opposition that they could take the entire credit for this move because what we sought was genuine empowerment. What the opposition saw was their brand of regressive anti-women politics being permanently buried and they did not let this happen.
16. We remain committed to the welfare, upliftment, and ensuring the rights and dignity of our mothers, sisters, and daughters. This is not about politics for us; this is a principled approach in the service of Bharat Mata and Nari Shakti.
17. The anti-women forces may have won tonight but our commitment to the cause of women is stronger than the opposition’s lust for power . We have the ashirwad of crores and crores of women on our side, which will guide us and support us in our journey to give the women of India what is rightfully theirs.
Written By Shlok Thakur