Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin Questions Centre’s Intent, Calls Women’s Reservation Bill Delay Nothing But Political Optics

Chennai: After the defeat of the Delimitation Bill linked to Women Reservation Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday criticised the BJP-led Union Government alleging that the Centre lacked intent and had reduced the issue to “mere optics.”

In a strongly worded statement, Stalin urged people to “read the fine print” of the legislation, pointing out that despite the Women Reservation Bill being passed in 2023, its implementation had been tied to the completion of a Census and subsequent delimitation exercise.

The Chief Minister questioned the timing of the Special Session convened by the Centre, noting that it was held in the middle of state elections and more than two-and-a-half years after the Bill’s passage, only to reiterate that immediate implementation was not feasible without procedural prerequisites.

Emphasising Tamil Nadu’s record, Stalin said the State had been among the pioneers in providing reservation for women in local bodies and reiterated that his government supports the immediate rollout of the legislation.

However, he raised concerns over the proposed delimitation process, cautioning that it must be approached with care to ensure fairness, particularly for southern states. He said Tamil Nadu had consistently sought consultation, clarity, and consensus on the issue.

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Stalin argued that the Union Government had the option to delink the Women’s Reservation Bill from delimitation and Census requirements to enable immediate implementation but chose not to do so. He further alleged that the Centre had also failed to use the intervening period to engage with states or address their concerns within the framework of the Bill.

“This is not justice. This is not intent. This is optics,” Stalin said, adding that women in Tamil Nadu and across India were aware of the situation and would not be treated as a vote bank.

He asserted that the Centre had the opportunity to deliver on the promise of women’s reservation but had failed to act.