NEW DELHI – Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju has written to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, asserting that any delay in implementing the Women’s Reservation Act amounts to “denying justice to millions.”
The letter serves as a formal rebuttal to Kharge’s recent correspondence with the Prime Minister, in which the Congress leader alleged that the government was rushing the law’s implementation for “political mileage.”
Call to Rise Above Politics
Rijiju emphasized that the move to implement the quota by the 2029 general elections is a matter of fulfilling a national promise rather than seeking electoral gains. He urged the Opposition to set aside political hesitation and support the initiative for the sake of ‘Nari Shakti’ (women’s power).
“This is not about politics. This is about keeping our promise to the daughters of India,” Rijiju wrote, countering the Congress’s stance that the current legislative push is a “politics of postponement.”
The Implementation Debate
The exchange highlights the deepening divide over the timing of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. While the government aims to delink the reservation from the next Census to ensure its application by 2029, the Congress has questioned the timing and requested broader consultations, including an all-party meeting after the current state elections.
Rijiju’s message reinforces the Centre’s position that the legislative process must move forward immediately to ensure the 2029 polls are conducted with the one-third reservation in place.
