“Makes women look stupid”: AAP leader claims reservation Bill a ‘fraudulent move’

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: The AAP's women's unit president in Karnataka, Kushala Swamy, on Tuesday said the Centre's tabling of the 'Nari Shakti Vandana Adhiniyam, or women's reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha was a fraudulent move that makes women look stupid.

"This is a Bill that makes women look stupid. A careful reading of the provisions of the Bill reveals the BJP's fraud," Kushala Swamy told reporters on Tuesday.

"Even if the constitutional amendment Bill to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is passed, women will not get reservations in 2024 elections," she added.

She demanded that the delimitation and Census provisions in the Bill be removed, urging that the draft legislation be passed before the Lok Sabha polls next year.

"The Bill can only come into effect after the delimitation process. After that, it will be in effect for up to 15 years. If BJP is truly interested in women's welfare, it should remove delimitation and Census provisions in the bill," she added.

"The next Lok Sabha elections are close. However, for this Bill to be implemented, a census must be conducted first. Constituency delimitation has to be done on the basis of the census report. Only on the basis of delimitation can reservations be given. It will take a year to do the census and the delimitation process will start after that."