Congress president hints at support for center launch in 2029New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to the Modi government rejecting the Centre’s new proposal to convene a meeting to discuss the amendment to the Women’s Reservation Bill, saying the opposition was “very busy” with the assembly election campaign and reiterated its demand to the government to convene an all-party meeting after polls close on April 29.However, for the first time since talk of amending the quota bill began, Kharge said the opposition was ready to promote 33% women’s reservation in the legislature from 2029. Furthermore, it is understood that the government has officially told Kharge that it wants to decouple census and delimitation from the issue of women’s quotas.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rigiju wrote to Haq on Thursday seeking a meeting to discuss the issue. In response, Haq accused the government of being “rushed” to “amend the constitutional amendment 30 months after it was originally passed” and asked the government to wait until the polls were over.“We are all very busy with the campaign. That is why we have proposed to hold the meeting after the campaign is over,” he wrote, adding, “This will in no way affect the implementation of the revised Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023 from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.”
On Tuesday, India’s opposition groups, apart from the TMC, wrote to the government saying that an all-party brainstorming session should be held on amending the landmark bill. It asked the government to circulate its amendment proposals in advance to allow for better discussions. Hague has twice previously rejected the government’s request to meet only in parliament and asked the government to discuss the issue with the entire opposition camp.Khaq scolded the government, writing: “On September 21, 2023, during the debate in the Union House, I myself demanded the immediate implementation of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, but the government did not agree to my demand.”Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said the implication of the government’s new request was that it wanted to amend 334-A(1), which was sudden since the constitutional provision was passed more than two years ago. Referring to the ongoing polls, he said: “The Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission has been simplified to the Modi Campaign Code. Convening a two-day special meeting on any day in April would be a breach of one MCC but in line with another.”“
