Sule Seeks 33% Women's Quota, Rejects Delimitation Link
NCP (SP) leader says alliance will decide its stand only after the Centre introduces the delimitation bill; dismisses speculation over meetings with CM Fadnavis.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday asserted that the INDIA bloc has never linked the proposed delimitation exercise with women's reservation, insisting that the Centre should implement the long-pending 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament.
Addressing a press conference, Sule said neither the NCP (SP) nor the INDIA alliance had held discussions with anyone regarding the proposed delimitation exercise and that the Opposition would formulate its position only after the Centre introduced a formal bill in Parliament.
"We have neither held discussions with anyone regarding delimitation, nor has anyone approached us about it. We will formulate our stance once the bill is introduced," she said.
Sule stressed that the INDIA bloc's consistent demand has been the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, rejecting suggestions that the alliance had sought to link the issue with delimitation.
"The INDIA alliance never demanded delimitation. We have demanded that the 33 per cent reservation for women should be implemented," she said.
She added that any decision on the proposed legislation would be taken collectively after consultations within the INDIA bloc.
"We will discuss any upcoming bill in detail within the INDIA alliance. Earlier, parties such as the DMK, Samajwadi Party and ourselves had also raised concerns over the 50 per cent quota issue. We cannot comment until we see the legislation," she said.
Sule said the Opposition had earlier written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a joint meeting with all INDIA bloc constituents instead of separate consultations on the proposed legislation.
"During the previous Budget Session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju invited parties individually. We met Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju, but under Mallikarjun Kharge's leadership, we wrote to the Home Minister requesting that all INDIA bloc parties be invited together," she said.
Her remarks came amid renewed political debate over the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which seeks to expand the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and pave the way for a fresh delimitation exercise. The bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session.
Rejecting speculation that the NCP (SP) was engaging in backchannel discussions with the BJP over the issue, Sule dismissed reports linking recent meetings between party leaders and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to any political realignment.
She clarified that senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil had officially sought an appointment with Fadnavis to discuss action taken against an NCP (SP) municipal council president and said there was "nothing secretive" about the meeting.
Meetings between leaders of the ruling NCP and the NCP (SP) at the chief minister's official residence, Varsha, had fuelled speculation after Congress leader P. Chidambaram claimed the BJP was attempting to secure support from the Sharad Pawar-led party and the DMK for the proposed constitutional amendment.
Dismissing rumours of a split within her party, Sule said the NCP (SP) remained united under Sharad Pawar's leadership.
"All eight MPs of the NCP (SP) and all our MLAs are together. Sharad Pawar not only leads the party but also listens to everyone," she said.
Sule said she would attend the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on July 19 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to begin on July 20, where the alliance is expected to discuss its strategy on key legislative issues, including delimitation.
