Ahead of PM's Bhopal visit, Uma Bharti raises demand for OBC quota within women's reservation bill

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled arrival in Bhopal, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday said she expects the PM to give a “positive signal” about carving out a quota for OBCs within the recently passed women's reservation bill.

Earlier last week, Bharti had expressed her disappointment for not including the OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota within the constitutional amendment bill which provided 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

"Prime Minister is welcomed in the land of Bhopal. He is the messiah of the poor and backward, I am sure he will give a positive signal on OBC reservation for women,” Bharti posted on X on Monday morning, hours before the PM visits Bhopal where he will address a mega meeting of BJP workers.

Bharti had told PTI last week that she was happy that the women's reservation bill was introduced in Parliament, but was feeling somewhat dejected because it doesn't have the provision for reservation for OBCs.

The senior BJP leader, who has been expressing her displeasure on various issues, had denied that she quit politics.

“I had refused to contest elections because it had been many years since I had been working. I thought of taking a break for five years. People thought that I had left politics. I am tired of saying that I have not left politics,” she had told a rally in Sagar district.

Bharti was last elected as Lok Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi.

Earlier this month, Bharti, also the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, had expressed her displeasure over not being invited to attend the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, which was launched by party president JP Nadda on September 3.

Bharti had also run a campaign demanding a stringent liquor policy in Madhya Pradesh and had allegedly thrown stones at a couple of shops as a mark of protest. She also stayed in a temple to protest demanding amendments to the liquor policy.

Elections are due in Madhya Pradesh later this year.