Kamal Haasan hails women’s reservation bill, urges parties to address these two concerns

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday hailed the women’s reservation bill that has been tabled in Lok Sabha. The Makkal Needhi Maiam chief said.

The legislation corrects the ‘a longstanding injustice perpetrated against the largest minority’. “A landmark day in the history of our Republic, as the seat of our democracy moved into its new home.

I’m delighted that the first Bill tabled in this new Parliament corrects a longstanding injustice perpetrated against the largest minority in our nation, the women of India. I wholeheartedly applaud the Women Reservation Bill tabled yesterday. Nations that ensure gender equality will always prosper”, Haasan posted on social media platform X.

However, Haasan urged the parties to address the concern related to the bill mentioning that the reservation will come into effect after the next census and delimitation exercise.

“This delayed implementation timeline risks making this momentous decision into mere lip service towards the subject and must be done away with”, he posted, also demanding that the reservation be extended to Rajya Sabha and legislative councils.

“I look forward to the day when women will have proportional representation in legislative bodies without the aid of any affirmative action”, Haasan added.

Several opposition parties including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have criticised the bill as it mentions the reservation will be effective after the census and delimitation.

“There is a need to look carefully at the bill that the Modi government has brought today. In the current draft of the bill, it is written that it will be implemented only after decadal census and delimitation. This means, Modi government has probably closed the doors of women’s reservation till 2029. BJP should clarify on this”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday.

Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi said,”Why can’t Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi provide reservations to women in the 2024 elections without waiting for the census and delimitation. If he truly cares about women, why doesn’t he implement the bill on the existing 543 seats in the Lok Sabha?”

Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said,””It seems they (Centre) are not going to implement it (draft women’s reservation law) for the time being. For the last 10 years, we have been demanding such a law. They are saying that they will only do a census and delimitation exercise for now. There is no clarity on when they would implement it”.