Kolkata: ‘Don’t lecture me on women’s reservation’, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday, adding that she had raised the issue in parliament as early as 1998. She said Prime Minister Modi’s speech was “full of lies” and he was “forced” to address the nation because “their (BJP’s) downfall started yesterday”. Banerjee pointed out that more than 40% of the party’s MPs are women, the highest proportion in parliament. She also said that the TMC has fielded the highest number of women candidates (52) in the upcoming Bengal Assembly elections. The Congress fielded 35 women candidates, including 34 from the Left and 33 from the BJP. “BJP wants to implement delimitation under the guise of Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill as Modi cannot win with the existing number of LS seats.” That’s why he wants to increase the number of seats to 850. This is his fundamental purpose. Pointing out that the women’s reservation bill was already pending, she asked: “What is the need to draw a line under it?” Do they think they are too smart? ” On Modi’s “tukde-tukde gang” barb against the TMC, she said, “The BJP wants to divide the country through delimitation. They are the real tukde-tukde gang.”
