Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Opposition of betraying women over reservation Bill
.BJP leaders rally at party office, call Congress 'All India Anti-Reform Congress'
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Opposition over the stalled Women's Reservation Bill at a press conference at the BJP office on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg that drew a conspicuous show of solidarity from party women leaders.
Calling recent parliamentary developments "deeply unfortunate", Gupta framed her argument in unambiguous moral terms. "Daughters of this country are still fighting for their rightful place. How can democracy claim victory when daughters lose?" she asked, taking particular aim at parties that had once championed the slogan "Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon", but now, according to her, stood against the very cause they once claimed to represent.
She traced the Bill's troubled history across three decades of obstruction and challenged the Opposition's demand for an immediate 33 per cent carve-out from the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats. "Which of the current male representatives is ready to give up his seat?" she asked, defending the Centre's proposal to expand the total number of seats as a more equitable solution, one that delivers the quota without displacing existing members or weakening regional representation.
Gupta noted that Lok Sabha seats have remained frozen since 1971, when India's population was around 50 crore. "Today we are nearing 150 crore. Redistribution is no longer optional," she said. She also cited a stark representational gap, around 15 lakh women in local bodies, but just 78 in the Lok Sabha, as evidence that organic progress had clearly stalled and policy intervention was essential.
She rechristened the Congress the "All India Anti-Reform Congress", listing its opposition to the GST, Article 370, triple talaq, and the CAA as part of a consistent pattern. She added that Prime Minister Modi had even offered the Opposition credit for the Bill if they ensured its passage. "Even then, they refused," she said.
She also criticised what she described as dynastic politics, alleging that some parties promote only women from political families while restricting opportunities for others.
During the press conference, BJP leaders raised slogans in support of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Delhi BJP MLA Shikha Rai also addressed the media, alleging that the Opposition had blocked a “legitimate pathway” for women’s entry into legislative bodies through “misleading arguments”.
