Mayawati slams Cong SP for their stance on women quota

Lucknow, Apr 17 (PTI) BSP chief Mayawati on Friday accused the Congress and Samajwadi Party of changing colours like a chameleon, saying they never took any initiative for reservation of SC, ST and OBC category women during their tenure but now talk about the same.
     Her remarks came amid a debate in Parliament on women quota.
    In a lengthy post on X in Hindi, the former Uttar Pradesh minister said, "In the matter of constitutional/legal rights for the country's SC, ST, and OBC communities, the Congress is changing its colour like a chameleon".
     "It is the same party that is now talking about these categories in women's reservation but it never took any initiative during its central government (tenure) to fulfil their reservation quotas in any sector," she said.
     "Nor did it implement the 27 per cent reservation for the OBC community in government jobs and education as per the Mandal Commission report, which was eventually implemented in the government of former prime minister VP Singh," Mayawati said.
    Training her guns on the Samajwadi Party, Mayawati said similarly in Uttar Pradesh, the then SP government had shelved the report of the Backward Classes Commission that came in July 1994 which was then immediately implemented by the first BSP government on June 3, 1995.
    Now, the same SP is changing its colour for political interests, and is talking about giving separate reservation to their women, she charged.
    "Thus, like in other cases, in this matter too, the SP adopts a different stance, when not in power, but when in government, it adopts a different narrow casteist and discriminatory attitude. Therefore, all these communities must always remain cautious of such deceptive and double-faced parties; only then can something better become possible," she said.
    On the issue of delimitation based on the 2011 Census for the purpose of women's reservation, Mayawati said "if it has to be implemented quickly for whatever reasons, then it has to be done on the basis of this same census".
    "If the Congress was in power at the Centre currently, it would have taken the same step as the BJP. Overall, this means that no party in the country has been serious about the real interests, welfare, and shaping the future etc., of the SC, ST, OBC, and Muslim communities in any matter," the BSP chief said.
    "Therefore, in the matter of women's reservation, whatever these categories are getting now, they should accept it for the time being, and when a better time comes ahead, proper attention will be paid to their interests. They should not fall for anyone's inducements because they themselves have to stand on their own feet and make their society self-reliant and strong," the BSP chief said.
    Strongly backing the implementation of women's reservation in legislatures in 2029, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made it clear that no state will be discriminated against in the delimitation of constituencies, even as the opposition claimed democracy will be finished in India if the Constitution amendment bill is passed.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)