NEW DELHI: Unity among the four biggest opposition parties could prove enough to torpedo the government’s bold move to get Parliament to reconvene on April 16 to receive legislative nod for rolling out women’s reservation in 2029.
But robust cross-party support for the idea, reflected in an almost consensus favouring the original law in 2023, coupled with increasing salience of women as a voting bloc, has lent confidence to the NDA camp about the passage of its bills.Parties like Congress, TMC and the Left have kept away from the government’s outreach, questioning the motive behind seeking passage of the women’s quota bill during the three-day special sitting starting April 16.
However, while they have raised concerns over the “hurry”, they have refrained from disparaging the proposal itself.“Let them oppose it,” a government functionary said when asked about the opposition’s stand, underlining the calculation that rival parties would be wary of potential political damage if they choose to oppose. The move to reconvene Parliament a week before Bengal elections — a prized state for BJP as it seeks to end TMC’s 15-year rule — and ahead of Tamil Nadu polls is not without political import.
Yet, the opposition’s choices may be limited.When the original law, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was passed in 2023, only two members from AIMIM opposed it in the Lok Sabha and none in the Rajya Sabha. Moreover, key opposition netas had criticised the government for providing no fixed timeline for implementation, as rollout was linked to delimitation after the ongoing Census, and had demanded early execution.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had termed the proposal a “jumla”, noting it might not be implemented before the 2034 elections.Regional parties rooted in OBC politics, such as SP and RJD, which have historically opposed the women’s quota on the grounds that it may disproportionately benefit upper-caste women, had demanded sub-quotas for backward classes within the reserved seats. However, this did not translate into opposition when NDA government brought the bill in 2023.Since the H D Deve Gowda-led government first introduced the bill in 1996, followed by efforts under the Vajpayee government and later the UPA dispensation, MPs linked to Mandal politics — including RJD’s Surendra Yadav in 1998 and Rajniti Prasad in 2010 — had even torn copies of the bill inside Parliament. The government is expected to bring at least two bills, including constitutional amendments, and will require support from opposition parties for their passage.
