‘Should not be considered a failure of the government…’ Rijiju’s stand on women’s reservation bill not endorsed by LS

New Delhi: Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kieron Rijiju The defeat of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha should not be seen as a failure of the government, it said on Saturday, blaming the Congress for causing a major setback to the country.Rigiju told a press conference after the budget session that the opposition would bear the brunt of its campaign against women.“The budget session was extended for three days on April 16, 17 and 2018 during which the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and delimitation bills were tabled. We had majority but we did not get the 2/3 majority required for the constitutional amendment,” Rijiju said.“Congress will have to face the wrath of women; the failure to celebrate women is evidence of their anti-women mentality,” he added.This comes after the bill proposing reservation for women through delimitation exercise failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha with 298 MPs voting in favor and 230 voting against.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the constitutional amendment has not been passed yet. After the results were announced, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would not proceed with the remaining two interrelated bills.The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the opposition of blocking a historic reform aimed at ensuring 33% reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that political parties like Congress, TMC and others were blocking the passage of the bill and warned of the political consequences.The opposition, however, insists it supports women’s reservation in principle but objects to linking it to the delimitation and census processes. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha described the bill as an attempt to change India’s electoral structure, while several Congress leaders called the vote a defense of democratic values.