Women's reservation bill is no gift from anyone: Chidambaram's swipe at PM

The Women's reservation bill is no gift from anyone to the women of India but is the hard-earned victory of their right to adequate political representation secured from a male-dominated political system, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.

Chidambaram's remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a gathering of women in Ahmedabad to felicitate him on the passage of the bill, said women's reservation is a 'gift from your brother'.

In a post on X, Chidambaram said, "The Women's Reservation Bill is no gift from anyone to the women of India."

The Bill is the hard-earned victory of their right to adequate political representation secured from a patriarchal and male-dominated political system, the former Union minister said.

"The bugle was sounded by Rajiv Gandhi who took the first revolutionary step toward political representation for women by bringing Constitution Amendment Bills for such Reservation in panchayats and municipalities," he said.

In Ahmedabad, Modi said those who had kept the bill to reserve seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies 'hanging' for 10 years finally voted for it due to the fear of women's power.

"You sent me 'rakhis' on Rakshabandhan, women's reservation is a gift from your brother," the prime minister said.

The Congress has demanded that the government immediately implement the women's reservation bill after removing the conditions that it would come into effect after the census and the delimitation exercise.