'Major flaw in this women reservation bill is…': Asaduddin Owaisi on why he opposes it

Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday expressed his disapproval of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ (women reservation bill) saying that he is against the bill as it does not include the quota for women from the Muslim and OBC communities.

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"Who are you giving representation to? Those who don't have representation should be given representation. The major flaw in this bill is that there is no quota for women from Muslim and OBC communities, so we are against it," he told news agency ANI.

“You are making a bill so that there is representation of the underrepresented. Till now, 17 Lok Sabha elections have taken place in which 8,992 MPs have been elected. Out of these, only 520 were Muslims and in this not even a handful were women. There is a deficit of 50%," he said.

Read here: On women's reservation bill, PM Modi's request to Rajya Sabha: ‘I urge members…’

Meanwhile, prime minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for the women's reservation bill saying that his government is committed to ensuring that the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' aimed at expanding women's participation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies becomes a law, as he urged MPs of both houses of parliament to pass the bill unanimously.

In the first speech in the first session in the new Parliament building, PM Modi said that the Women's Reservation Bill was given approval in the Cabinet meeting on Monday, and asserted that this will strengthen democracy.

Read here: Women's Reservation Bill tabled in Lok Sabha. 5 things to know about this legislation

Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitutional Amendment bill, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, to reserve one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. Making it the first bill to be introduced in the new Parliament building, the government said it will enable greater participation of women in policy-making at the state and national levels and help achieve the goal of making India a developed country by 2047.

Despite being a crucial step towards gender parity and inclusive governance, the bill has remained in legislative limbo for far too long.

The five-day special session of Parliament was called by the government last month taking the opposition by surprise. The decision was announced by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi. The Special Session of Parliament will end on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)