Shillong, September 24: As the BJP-led Centre successfully passed the Women Reservation Bill, eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition alliance INDIA has brought to the forefront issues related to “quota within quota” and the caste census in Bihar.
As per IANS, the NDA is poised to contest next year’s elections, boasting that it made history by securing the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill. However, the leaders of RJD and JD-U, representing INDIA, are strategically raising concerns about OBC (Other Backward Classes) reservation and the caste census within the framework of women’s reservation, potentially causing complications for the BJP.
Traditionally, the RJD had been opposing women’s reservation. However, following the enactment of the quota bill, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav stated, “Instead of a 33 per cent quota, you (BJP) should provide reservation to 50 per cent of women.”
He emphasized, “The OBC community does not easily accept defeat and advocates for their rights. The Modi government should be well aware that if the BJP attempts to curtail the rights of the 60 per cent OBC population, the OBCs will respond decisively.”
“For decades, we have been demanding not just a 33 per cent reservation for women but 50 per cent, and it should be implemented immediately, with provisions for SC, ST, OBC, and minority women,” Tejashwi Yadav asserted.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also called for a caste census and quotas within the women’s reservation, seen as a countermove against the NDA’s women’s reservation stance.
The opposition alliance INDIA appears to be pursuing dual objectives: endorsing the women’s reservation bill to secure the support of female voters while aiming to influence the OBC and backward classes vote bank, which the BJP has traditionally dominated.
BJP spokesperson Rakesh Kumar Singh remarked, “So far, the opposition has lacked both a clear policy and intent regarding women’s reservation. Even today, they are attempting to obstruct the progress of this bill.”
He questioned, “If JD-U and RJD are genuinely concerned about the OBCs, why has the report of the Backward Commission not been made public yet? It has been a considerable time since the panchayat elections.”
Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari pointed out, “There are two shortcomings in the bill. Firstly, it lacks a time limit. Secondly, there is no provision for OBC reservation. By raising these concerns, the party is sending a message to the OBCs that the BJP does not prioritize their welfare.”
Political expert Ajay Kumar added, “Undoubtedly, the BJP government successfully passed the Women’s Reservation Bill, pending for 27 years, in Parliament, and it will use this achievement in the upcoming elections. Consequently, INDIA is also gearing up to play the reservation card.”