Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien on Friday cited a Hindustan Times article from 2010 quoting Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s remarks on the women’s reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha, and questioned if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is really serious about empowering women.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha, the TMC MP said, “All the struggles and oppressions faced by women are not because of women. It’s because of men and the outlook of men towards women,” as he referred to the sexual harassment allegations against the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“…I don’t want to waste time on the former wrestling chief but…I am quoting from the Hindustan Times, ‘people in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi cannot decide public policy, this Bill will drown the Indian political system if it goes through’. This was said by none other than the current chief minister of UP,” O’Brien said.
In 2010, when the women’s reservation bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, Yogi Adityanath had said, “This Bill will drown the Indian political system if it goes through…If men develop feminine traits, they become gods, but if women develop masculine traits they become demons… Western ideas of women’s liberation should be properly analysed in the Indian context.”
Derek O’Brien demands reservation for women in Rajya Sabha
Meanwhile, the TMC MP also urged the government to bring the women’s reservation bill in Rajya Sabha as well.
“I’ve got a suggestion. Get everyone on board, have a proper discussion on the subject, and then bring 1/3rd reservation for women also in Rajya Sabha. We will all support it. It can’t be done in a hurry, but it is possible,” he said.
Women’s reservation passed by Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the women’s reservation bill that seeks to provide a 33 percent quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The legislation, now called as ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ was tabled by union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building.
According to the bill, one-third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be reserved for women from those groups. These reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
