Kharge describes the BJP's women's reservation bill as a 'jumla' designed to get votes.

The Forecast 2 years ago Congress

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the women's reservation Bill's contemporary relevance on Thursday, calling it a jumla (empty promise) of the Bharatiya Janata Party administration at the Centre, even as he accused the BJP of attempting to alter the Constitution. Speaking at a public gathering in election-bound Chhattisgarh, Kharge emphasized how long the road to legislative implementation would be, comparing it to previous BJP pre-election pledges.

'Empty words'

"All I want to say is that [Prime Minister Narendra] Modiji is not giving women reservation today, nor will he do so in 2024 or 2029." They say it will be implemented in 2034, but neither they nor we will be there by then. First, we'll speak about 2024, and then we'll see. These are hollow words spoken in exchange for votes. They lie to every extent imaginable, such as the jumla they used before that 2 crore employment will be provided...," Kharge stated during the 'Krishak-sah-Shramik Sammelan' (farmers-cum-labourers convention) organized by the State government in Sumabhata village in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district. "...if two crore jobs were given out every year, there would have been ten crore recruitments by now." People should have received the 15 lakh if they were providing it to everyone, and farmers' incomes should have been quadrupled by now. When questioned, [Home Minister Amit] Shahji claims they are all jumlas. So, if such pledges may be jumlas, women's reservation is also a jumla because, in their thinking, the promises they make are forgotten by the people and they continue to receive votes," Kharge explained.

He repeated the party's demands for OBC women quota and a caste census in the country. The Congress president mentioned the late Mini Mata Agam Dass Guru, one of the country's first female MPs, as an example of his party's previous attempts to provide political representation for women. He argued that while the Congress was working to safeguard democracy and the Constitution, the BJP sought to repeal it and replace it with another. "They flog their ideas to the public piece by piece, only to later say they don't want it [changing the Constitution] and want to strengthen it." "This is why I am appealing to the poor, Dalits, tribals, and those from the backward sections of society that if you lose in these elections, the Constitution and democracy in this country will be lost," Kharge stated.