Opposition committed 'sin' by blocking women's reservation bill: Pankaja Munde

Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Opposition parties accusing them of committing a ldquograve mistakerdquo by opposing the womenrsquos reservation bill in Parliament She said the move had deprived women of their rightful role in policymaking and called it a missed national opportunity reported PTIStrong criticism of Oppositionrsquos standAddressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Partyrsquos Thane unit office Munde said the failure to pass the legislation reflected a lack of political will to ensure gender equality in governance reported PTIShe alleged that by blocking the bill Opposition parties had denied women equal participation in legislative processes According to her women across the country would not forget what she described as a historic setbackMunde argued that the issue goes beyond party politics and concerns the broader question of justice and representation for womenlsquoNot a favour but a fundamental rightrsquoEmphasising the need for structural reform Munde said reservation for women should be viewed as a matter of right rather than a concession reported PTIShe stated that women have consistently demonstrated competence capability and leadership across sectors yet continue to face systemic barriers in accessing decisionmaking roles reported PTIldquoWomen have long been denied opportunities despite equal merit and contribution Ensuring representation is about correcting this imbalancerdquo she saidBill fails to secure required majority in Lok SabhaThe Constitution 131st Amendment Bill 2026 which proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies failed to pass in the Lok Sabha on April 17During voting 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it However constitutional amendments require a twothirds majority of members present and voting resulting in the bill falling short of the thresholdThe proposed legislation aimed to implement reservations beginning with the 2029 general electionsOpposition raises concerns over delimitationOpposition parties had opposed the bill citing concerns related to the proposed delimitation exercise They argued that linking reservation to delimitation could potentially reduce the representation of southern states in ParliamentThis contention became a key point of disagreement ultimately contributing to the billrsquos failure to passlsquoA lost opportunity for inclusive governancersquoMunde described the outcome as a setback for inclusive governance stating that greater representation of women would have strengthened democratic processes reported PTIShe maintained that increasing womenrsquos participation in legislative bodies is essential for more balanced and effective policymakingldquoThe country has lost an important opportunity to empower women politically and ensure their voices are heard at the highest levelsrdquo she said reiterating her partyrsquos commitment to pushing for greater representation in the future reported PTIWith inputs from PTI