New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday described the defeat of the Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhiniyam amendments as a “victory for democracy” and accused the Center of conspiring to change the country’s federal structure under the guise of women’s reservation.
She also praised the unity of the opposition, and said: “It was a victory for the constitution, the nation, and the unity of the opposition, and this was clear on the faces of the leaders of the ruling side.”
Addressing a press conference in the capital, a day after the bill failed to pass in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi asserted that the opposition is not against reservation for women. She said: “The opposition is not against reservation, but the government’s only goal behind introducing the Constitution Amendment Bill is to remain in power permanently. The people can see the truth of its intentions.”
She added: “What happened yesterday was a very important victory for democracy. The government’s conspiracy to change the federal structure and weaken democracy has been defeated and stopped. The Modi-led government has received its first jolt, which is why it is calling it ‘Black Day’. This jolt was very necessary.”
“When Home Minister Amit Shah was speaking in Lok Sabha on Friday, he said that Congress will not be able to sit on the treasury benches for years, which shows their mentality…the whole conspiracy was to stay in power permanently,” he said.
Gandhi claimed that the BJP has a history when it comes to women’s issues, and alleged that the ruling party wanted to avoid demarcation of boundaries after the caste census. “This is done by using women’s rights as an excuse. The government was going to demarcate the borders according to its wishes,” she claimed.
“The BJP wanted to do this to prove itself as the messiah of women. But it is not easy. We have seen what happened to women in Hathras, what happened to our Olympic medalists,” she said.
