When the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on September 21, 2023 it was dubbed as a milestone in the history of the women’s rights movement in the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government earned quite a few brownie points and even international acclaim for doing the impossible.
But as the country braces for the Lok Sabha polls, there have been allegations from various quarters that the Bill still remains on paper as it could not be implemented before the next general census followed by a delimitation of the constituencies.
“It was just a gimmick to sway female voters. It was never meant to be implemented,” says Jebi Mather, Rajya Sabha MP and State president of the Mahila Congress.
