Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Apr 19: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it “deeply unfortunate” that he had chosen to “mislead the nation” over the women’s reservation issue.
In a post on X, Banerjee alleged that the Centre was attempting to push forward the delimitation exercise by “using women as a shield” for its political agenda.
“It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to mislead the nation rather than address it honestly,” she said.
Her remarks came a day after the Prime Minister, in his address to the nation following the defeat of a Bill proposing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures from 2029, accused the Congress and its allies of committing a “sin of foeticide” and warned of electoral consequences.
Defending her party’s record, Banerjee asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has consistently supported greater political representation for women.
“We have the highest proportion of female elected representatives in both Parliament and the state legislature. In the Lok Sabha, 37.9 per cent of TMC MPs are women,” she said, adding that the party has nominated around 46 per cent women members in the Rajya Sabha.
She maintained that there was no opposition to women’s reservation in principle, but reiterated strong objections to the delimitation exercise.
“What we oppose is the attempt to push delimitation under the guise of women’s reservation to serve vested political interests,” Banerjee alleged.