Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the provision for implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in the lower house and state assemblies after census and delimitation was in line with the Constitution.
He was responding to a day-long debate on the constitutional amendment bill for women's reservation during which many opposition members questioned the need for census and delimitation before implementing the quota for women as it will delay the process.
Meghwal said if the government agrees to provide reservation immediately, it will be against the provisions of the Constitution.
He said with the opposition's support, such a bill may get passed but then it will get stuck in courts. "You will then move PILs against it in Supreme Court," he said.
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"We will not allow the bill to get stuck in technical issues," he said.
He alleged that some people tried to give the bill a political colour.
Hitting out at the Congress, he said the Modi government has the policy, intent and leadership to push for the bill, which the opposition party lacked when it was in power.
In a dig at Rahul Gandhi on his OBC remarks, Meghwal said the Congress ensured the defeat of B R Ambedkar in elections. "You did not confer Bharat Ratna on him. You did not allow his portrait in the Central Hall (of the old Parliament building)," the minister claimed.
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Earlier this morning, while moving the bill for passage in Lok Sabha, Meghwal said it is a very important measure and urged members to pass it with unanimity.
He asserted that if Parliament decides, the quota for women can be extended beyond 15 years.
The constitutional amendment bill 'Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam' was introduced in the Lower House on Tuesday. It was also the first bill introduced in the new Parliament building.
The bill provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The reservation will come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise.
-With PTI input
