Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday demanded that the Centre immediately implement the 2023 Act that gives 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and also put on hold the process of delimitation of constituencies.
In a brief statement in Mumbai, the former Maharashtra CM said delimitation, or redrawing, of constituencies is not about any one party's political future, but it is an exercise about the nation's future.
"Immediately implement the 2023 Act passed by Parliament that gives 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies," Thackeray said.
Delimitation must be put on hold for now as it is an issue of national importance and needs more discussion, the Opposition politician stated.
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Thackeray's statement came on a day when Parliament began a three-day special sitting to debate three bills moved to amend the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', commonly known as the Women Reservation Act 2023, for its implementation in 2029, and set up a delimitation commission.
Thackeray had also participated in the opposition meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday through video conferencing.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after a division of votes.
Two ordinary bills -- the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill to implement the proposed amended women's quota law in Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir -- were also introduced in the House.
As per the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls following a delimitation exercise to be carried out on the basis of last published Census.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the BJP-led Centre is under the illusion that opposition MPs from Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala won't visit Parliament during voting on the delimitation bill due to elections in their states.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut said major opposition leaders, including his party chief Uddhav Thackeray, have been tasked with coordination.
The Rajya Sabha MP said Thackeray and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee share warm relations.
So, it was decided that Thackeray would talk to Banerjee to ensure that her party MPs remain present in Parliament and vote against the bill, Raut said.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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