New Delhi:

The Rajya Sabha was ‘alive with the sound of poetry’ Thursday after Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge quoted Kabir’s iconic ‘kaal kare so aaj kar‘ couplet to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party over delays in implementing the women’s reservation bill, which sailed through the Lok Sabha last night.

Mr Kharge called on the government to amend the bill and allow 33 per cent of seats in the Lower House and state legislatures to be reserved for women in time for the 2024 election. At present the bill requires a census and a delimitation – neither likely before 2029 – before it comes into effect.

“Amendment of this bill is not difficult… you (the government) can do this now but have postponed it till 2031. What does this mean?” Mr Kharge said, demanding to know “When reservations (for women) can take place for panchayat polls and zilla panchayat polls, why not this also for women?”

“Do it today… I will tell you Kabir’s poem – ‘kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab…’ (Whatever you have to do tomorrow, do it today. Whatever you have to do today, do it now),” he shouted above the ruckus as Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar grinned and gestured to him to take his seat.

READ | NDTV LIVE COVERAGE: Women’s Reservation Bill In Rajya Sabha

Mr Dhankhar then invited the BJP chief, JP Nadda, to respond.

The Congress leader, though, was not done and continued to press the government to amend the women’s quota bill and ensure its immediate implementation. “This is why you should do this now… do it today, we are ready. It is not illegal… nothing,” Mr Kharge insisted to the Chair.

The ruckus prompted a now-not-grinning Mr Dhankhar to grab his microphone (turn down Mr Nadda’s demands to speak immediately) and call for peace. “Honourable members… we are the Upper House… a house of elders…,” he said, after which he then allowed the BJP MP to speak.

READ | NDTV Explains: How Soon Can Women’s Quota Bill Come Into Effect

“I want to make one thing clear… BJP’s intention (regarding delayed implementation of the bill)… it is not to score points or get political advantage. We want to implement this bill for women… but we want to do it the right way… by following the Constitution!” Mr Nadda retorted

The Kharge-Nadda face-off underlines the government-vs-opposition gulf on this bill. 

READ | Women’s Quota Bill Passes Lok Sabha Test, Step Closer To Being Law

The government insists any delay in implementation is to ensure transparency in deciding seats to be reserved for women, and the only way to do this is to hold a census and then allow the delimitation panel to select seats to which parties can only field women candidates.

Responding to the opposition’s fierce attacks in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said, “Delimitation Commission is an important body for poll process in the country. If we are reserving one-third seats… who will do it? If we do it, you (the opposition) will question it…”

READ | Why Delay, Delimitation: Amit Shah On Opposition’s Big Women’s Quota Query

The opposition, however, insists that the provisions are a way to allow the BJP to gain political mileage and votes ahead of elections this year and the next without committing itself to the law.

The opposition has also questioned the timing of this bill, which has been tabled in a special convened five-day session of Parliament called just months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

READ | On Women’s Bill, Sonia Gandhi, Kanimozhi Lead Charge, Smriti Irani Replies

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday, “… the idea that you need a new census for this bill and a new delimitation (seems strange). I think this bill can be implemented today.”

READ | “Think Women’s Bill Can Be Implemented Today. I Wonder…”: Rahul Gandhi

“I wonder (if) this (the census and delimitation requirements) is not designed to push it (implementation of the bill) forward by seven or eight years and let it play out the way it does.”

New Delhi:

Women “do not want to be put on a pedestal… worshipped” DMK MP Kanimozhi said in Parliament today in a heated debate on the women’s reservation bill. Swatting aside hecklers at the start of her speech, she also invoked the spirit of strong women politicians, including former AIADMK boss J Jayalalithaa, her party’s fierce rival and the late ex-Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, and the late former union minister Sushma Swaraj, who was one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s tallest leaders.

In a speech that included quotes from Tamil poets and activists, Ms Kanimozhi criticised the BJP over the “jack-in-the-box” women’s bill and seemed to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “chosen by God” remark; “some leaders (believe) if a woman is strong, she becomes a ‘devil'”.

READ |“Chosen By God For Pious Task”: PM Pushes Women’s Bill In New Parliament

“Why cannot women be strong? Haven’t women participated in the independence struggle? Haven’t we seen strong leaders like Mrs Indira Gandhi? It is these kind of words that put fear into the hearts of women,” she said, to which someone tried to throw her off by mentioning Ms Jayalalithaa.

READ | NDTV Explainer: What Is Women’s Reservation Bill

“Yes… yes, Jayalalithaa was a strong leader. I have no hesitation in accepting she was a very strong leader,” Ms Kanimozhi shot back with a smile, to which Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule (seated next to her) reacted with a delighted thumping of the desk and a “well done Kani, exactly!”

Ms Kanimozhi then named other senior women politicians of the country, including Bahujan Samaj Party boss Mayawati, ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“This bill is called the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Bill’ (but) stop saluting us! We do not want to be saluted… put on a pedestal… to be worshipped… to be called mothers, your sister or wife. We want to be respected as equals. Let us get down from the pedestal and walk as equals,” Ms Kanimozhi said.

READ | DMK MP Kanimozhi Slams BJP Over “Jack-In-The Box” Women’s Bill

“Some of our leaders are worried… if a man also takes on the qualities of a woman then he becomes a ‘god’ but, if a woman becomes strong and brave it is not acceptable and she becomes a devil.”

“You (gesturing to the BJP benches) believe in God… in Hinduism. I would like to ask… who is Kali? Isn’t she brave, strong? So who are you insulting?” she continued with an emphatic gesture.

Ms Kanimozhi also quoted another late senior BJP leader – former Law Minister Arun Jaitley – to urging the government to allow “politics of tokenism” to evolve into the “politics of ideas”.

“I’d like to quote Arun Jaitley (referring to a quote he had made in the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on women’s rights). He said, “The argument (that) men can also ensure justice for women has been weakened until representation and discrimination stare us in the face’. The politics of tokenism must now evolve into the politics of ideas. So please stop tokenism,” she urged.

In her speech Ms Kanimozhi also laid out a brief history of the various iterations of the women’s bill, noting her party’s support on each instance, and underlined her Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s support for the Congress in claiming what Sonia Gandhi called “apna (our)” bill.

#WATCH | Women’s Reservation Bill | DMK MP Kanimozhi says, “I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the Govt’s reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all… pic.twitter.com/8gAJzAbopa

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

As others have, she also slammed the BJP for presenting a bill that cannot come into effect before the 2029 general election because it requires a delimitation, or redrawing of parliamentary constituencies, exercise that, in turn, relies on a national census scheduled for 2027.

She also pointed out the bill introduced by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2010 had no conditions and that it was to “take effect immediately after the passage…”

The day’s debate began with Sonia Gandhi making a similar demand and calling for immediate implementation. The BJP’s Nishikant Dubey then accused the Congress of making claims “for political angles” and pointed out such a demand had not been part of the Congress’ bill.

READ | Sonia Gandhi vs BJP In Lok Sabha On Women’s Reservation Bill

Pointing out the bill already has a provision for reservation for women from SC and ST communities, Mr Dubey said the Congress and the opposition had not tabled the bill (when the UPA was in power) and were now upset as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had showed the courage to do so.

With input from agencies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch for the women’s reservation bill in his opening speech in the new Parliament. Declaring himself “chosen by God for this pious task”, the Prime Minister called for increased focus on women-led development and praised the bill, which was cleared late last evening by the union cabinet and tabled this afternoon. “The world understands that only talking of women(-led) development is not enough… this is a positive step taken on this front.”

The PM also seized the moment to take a swipe at the opposition, stating previous governments – an unstated reference to Congress-led governments that preceded his – failed to clear this bill.

“Parliament has tried (to pass the bill) in the past too… there have been discussions around women’s reservations for years. Can say with pride we have scripted history,” the PM told Parliament.

“The bill was tabled multiple times in Atalji‘s (the late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) tenure… (now) God has chosen me for this pious task,” the PM declared amid criticism his government delayed passing this bill till now in anticipation of an image boost before next year’s general election.

READ |Women’s Reservation Bill: PM Calls It “Agni Pareeksha For MPs”

The Prime Minister had earlier also said passing the bill – tabled today by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal – will be an “agni pareeksha“, or trial by fire, for MPs.

The Women’s Reservation Bill

The bill proposes 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures.

The Lok Sabha will discuss the bill on Wednesday and the Rajya Sabha will debate it on Thursday.

Differences of opinion over a quota for women within that reserved for SC and ST communities had prevented the bill from clearing Parliament despite having been cleared by the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

The bill then lapsed since it was not taken up by the Lok Sabha within the specified time.

This time around, though, given the Bharatiya Janata Party’s brute majority in the Lok Sabha and support from allies in the Rajya Sabha, the bill is on the verge of becoming law.

READ | Women’s Quota Only By 2029? Exclusive Details Of New Bill

However, the quota may not come into force before 2029, since it will rely on data from a census that has not yet been conducted and a delimitation, or redrawing of constituencies, exercise.

The latter will only take place in 2027 – after the next census.

“It Is Ours”, Says Congress

Ex-Congress boss Sonia Gandhi claimed the bill on behalf of our party and called it “ours”. The Congress also said it welcomed the re-introduction of a bill first tabled its by government.

“It is ours, apna hai,” Mrs Gandhi told reporters.

“I Apologise”, Says PM

Meanwhile, claiming the spirit of a new start in the new Parliament building, the Prime Minister in his speech also offered “apologies… to someone we have hurt intentionally or unintentionally”.

“Samvatsari (a Jain festival) is celebrated today… this is a wonderful tradition. Today is the day we can say ‘micchami dukkadam‘… this gives us the chance to apologise to someone we hurt intentionally or unintentionally. I want to say ‘micchami dukkadam‘ to all Members of Parliament and people of India.”