Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Women’s Reservation Bill should be implemented with immediate effect and not wait for the delimitation exercise and the Census. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala said the Bill can be implemented today by giving 33% quota to women in Parliament and state assemblies. The Congress leader said the BJP likes to distract people from various issues, one of them being the caste census. Gandhi said he would like to see the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation included in this Bill.

Explaining the importance of implementing OBC quota in the Women’s Reservation Bill, Gandhi noted that among the 90 secretaries, who run the Government of India, only 3 are from the OBCs. He said there should be greater OBC representation among the top government officials for which, he said, a caste census was necessary. The Congress MP took a jibe at the government during the women’s quota bill discussions recalling the absence of President Droupadi Murmu from the inauguration of the new Parliament Building, and said she should have also been invited as the First Citizen of the country.

Rahul Gandhi said he found it strange that the implementation of the Bill would have to now wait for a new census and delimitation. He recalled the Congress’ singular contribution of the panchayati raj system in which women were given reservation thus allowing them into the political arena. This was a huge step, he said, adding the Women’s Reservation Bill was another big step.

Countering the former Congress president, Home Minister Amit Shah conveyed his heartfelt thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting this Bill, pending for years, introduced in the Special Session. Shah said women’s empowerment has been nothing but a political tool for the opposition to win votes and claimed it was not a political issue for his party.

Shah said the BJP government’s lifeline has been the protection, respect for and equality for women since its inception. He noted that the benefits of government welfare schemes go directly into the bank accounts of women.

He listed a host of women-centric initiatives of the Modi government including the Ujjwala Scheme, the Jan Dhan Yojana, maternity benefits and health insurance. Shah said the government has brought this bill to amend faults in Indian society and give power and respect to women, Amit Shah said. This amendment came up four times earlier, but it couldn’t be passed. Every time, this House disappointed the country’s women, he said. The Home Minister requested the House to pass the Bill unanimously.

There are only three categories for political representation as of now, the OBCs, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. This Bill will gives women reservation in all three categories, Amit Shah said. Speaking on the delimitation commission, Amit Shah said such a panel would include a retired Supreme Court judge, senior Election Commission officials and other members of constitutional bodies along with representatives of political parties.

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