Chandigarh, April 20
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Monday criticized opposition parties over the women’s reservation bill failing to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, saying they had committed a “grave sin” by opposing the legislation and would face public backlash from women.
Speaking to reporters in Amritsar, Sirsa alleged that parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, opposed the bill because they did not want the credit for implementing women’s reservation to go to the BJP.
He said voting against the bill reflected their mindset and accused the opposition of betraying women. “You have committed a grave sin by voting against women. This shows your mentality. You have betrayed daughters and sisters,” he said.
Sirsa further said that Congress, AAP, and other parties would have to answer to the public. He added that they would face strong anger from women over their stand on the issue.
The minister claimed that the opposition’s resistance was driven by political considerations, arguing that they did not want the BJP to be credited for the reform.
He also said that if women had been granted reservations in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies earlier, questions would have been raised about opposition parties for not implementing them over the past several decades.
Sirsa added that Punjab would have benefited significantly, with an increase in Lok Sabha seats from 13 to 20 and Assembly seats from 117 to more than 170.
Reiterating the Prime Minister’s message, he said the fight for ensuring women’s rights would continue.
The remarks come after the Constitution Amendment Bill related to women’s reservation failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, despite receiving support from a majority of members.
