Kolkata, April 19 -- Responding sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's criticism of Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, over the women's reservation issue, Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused him of misusing government machinery for political campaigns and misleading the nation.
"It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to mislead the nation rather than address it honestly. Let me put this on record. Trinamool Congress has always championed higher political representation for women. We have the highest proportion of female elected representatives in both Parliament and the State Legislature," Banerjee wrote on X. She said 37.9% of TMC's Lok Sabha MPs and 46% of its Rajya Sabha members are women.
Banerjee's response came after Modi, addressing a rally in Bankura on Sunday, alleged that the TMC does not want women in Bengal to rise in politics. Calling it a "betrayal of the sisters of Bengal", he claimed he had sought to ensure 33% reservation for women, but the Trinamool "conspired" with the Congress to block the law.
Rejecting the charge, Banerjee said: "The question of opposing women's reservation does not arise. What we are fundamentally opposed to is the delimitation exercise that the Modi government was plotting to push through by using women as a shield for its vested political agenda."
She reiterated that her party opposes "the altering of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution, the division of this nation and the usurpation of power through gerrymandering, by redrawing political contours to hand greater representation to BJP-ruled states at the expense of others".
Describing the move as "an assault on federal democracy", Banerjee said her party would not remain silent. Questioning the Centre's intent, she asked why the government waited nearly three years after the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill on September 28, 2023 and why it was being pushed during elections and linked with delimitation.
Criticising the Prime Minister for not addressing Parliament directly, she wrote: "Mr Prime Minister, the next time you address the nation, have the courage to do so from the floor of Parliament, where you are subject to scrutiny, challenge and accountability. What you did yesterday was cowardly, hypocritical and fork-tongued. You can feel power slipping through your fingers and you are prepared to go to any extent to hold on for just a little while longer."
Meanwhile, from the Kalna rally, Mamata also assured state government employees on dearness allowance (DA), saying: "You have already received 25% DA, and you will get the additional 4% as well." She added that West Bengal is the only state where government employees continue to receive pensions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.