Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday sparred over the Women’s Reservation Bill on X. Kiren Rijiju reshared Rahul Gandhi's video and remarked that it seems the Congress MP had finally had a change of heart.
Rijiju reposted the video on X and remarked that it seems the Congress MP had finally had a change of heart over the women's quota bill.
The parliamentary affairs minister described Rahul's message as “positive” and said he hoped the Congress would support the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament.
Now, I hope Congress Party will support the Women's Reservation Bill unconditionally,” Rijiju wrote on X.
He added that the ongoing census exercise, including the caste-based census, could take considerable time, potentially delaying the implementation of women’s reservation until the 2034 general elections.
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday sparred over the Women’s Reservation Bill on X. Kiren Rijiju reshared Rahul Gandhi's video and remarked that it seems the Congress MP had finally had a change of heart. (ANI/PTI Photos) The exchange began after Rijiju responded to a video posted by Rahul, in which the Congress MP is seen answering a question about young women in India during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session. “The energy of India's women is trapped. It is not allowed to express itself. It is not allowed to imagine. For me, no country can be successful if its women are not expressing themselves. And I think a lot of my politics, and a lot of what politics should be in this country, is about making people understand that our country is stunted and incomplete without the expression of women,” Rahul said. Rijiju reposted the video on X and remarked that it seems the Congress MP had finally had a change of heart over the women's quota bill. The parliamentary affairs minister described Rahul's message as “positive” and said he hoped the Congress would support the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament. “This seems to be a positive message from the Congress Party. There's a visible change of heart in Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji about the Women. Now, I hope Congress Party will support the Women's Reservation Bill unconditionally,” Rijiju wrote on X.
Following Rijiju’s remark, Rahul reiterated that the bill had already been passed in 2023 with the full support of the Congress and questioned why it had not been implemented even after three years. On the BJP’s attempt to link the bill to delimitation, Rahul questioned why the two issues were being “unnecessarily” linked. “Mr. Rijiju, who would know better than you, as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs—that the Women's Reservation Bill 2023 has already been passed unanimously, with the full support of the Congress,” Gandhi replied. “The question is, why has it still not been implemented even after three years, and why do you now want to unnecessarily link it to delimitation? Implement the 2023 law. Without any conditions,” he added. Taking to X, Rijiju continued the interaction and listed six points. He explained that the women’s reservation law, passed through the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise based on census figures published after 2026. He added that the ongoing census exercise, including the caste-based census, could take considerable time, potentially delaying the implementation of women’s reservation until the 2034 general elections.
