Virendra Sachdeva, educationists attack Opposition over women’s quota Bill

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Monday, along with senior educationists, criticised Opposition parties over the failure of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act to secure passage in Parliament, alleging that it had dashed the aspirations of women across the country.

Addressing a press conference, Sachdeva, accompanied by Rama Sharma and Ruby Mishra, accused parties including the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party of adopting a “negative and malicious stance” towards the legislation aimed at enhancing women’s representation.

Sachdeva claimed that women would hold these parties accountable, including women within their own organisations. He also defended the proposal to increase the number of seats to facilitate reservation, alleging that the Opposition had used issues such as delimitation as a pretext to block the measure.

Rama Sharma, principal of Hansraj College, said that women’s participation in higher education and public life has been steadily increasing and that the proposed legislation had raised expectations among young women. “Given the pace at which women are progressing, 50 per cent reservation is their rightful claim. If the Opposition is not ready even for 33 per cent, how will it ever agree to 50 per cent?” she said.

Ruby Mishra, principal of Bhagini Nivedita College, highlighted the impact of the development on students, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds. She said many college students viewed the legislation as an opportunity for greater representation and empowerment and its setback had led to disappointment.

“This is not just a matter of policy but of their aspirations,” she said, referring to interactions with students who questioned why the measure could not move forward.