Rahul Gandhi asks Kiren Rijiju why women’s quota law is not implemented

The Story in Brief

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju challenged Congress to unconditionally support the Women's Reservation Bill, after Rahul Gandhi spoke about women's freedom of expression. Rijiju called it a 'visible change of heart' in Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi responded, reminding Rijiju that the bill was passed unanimously in 2023 with Congress support. He questioned why the law has not been implemented in three years and accused the government of needlessly linking it to delimitation. 'Implement the 2023 law unconditionally,' Gandhi demanded.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, reserves 33% of seats for women but is tied to a future census or delimitation. The government now wants to use the 2011 Census to enable implementation before 2029 polls, but opposition parties fear a population-based delimitation will unfairly benefit northern states. An earlier attempt to pass the Constitution amendment bill failed in April. With the Monsoon session stalled since July 20, Rijiju has held talks with Gandhi, who has not budged.