Bommai highlighted Karnataka’s early women’s reservation in local bodies and credited the 73rd Amendment for empowerment
HAVERI
MP Basavaraj Bommai alleged that there is a political conspiracy behind the handling of women’s reservation and delimitation of constituencies, and said that both issues have been affected by decisions taken for political gain rather than public interest. He criticized Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress and DMK, claiming that Karnataka’s interests have been compromised in the process.
Speaking at a press conference in Haveri, Bommai said Karnataka was among the first states to implement women’s reservation in local bodies. He recalled that reservation for women was introduced during the tenure of Ramakrishna Hegde and later strengthened during the governments of H.D. Deve Gowda and P.V. Narasimha Rao through constitutional amendments. He added that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment played a key role in expanding women’s participation in governance.
He said the Congress is wrongly projecting that it was the first to introduce women’s reservation, while historical facts show that earlier non-Congress governments had already implemented such measures. He also referred to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision, saying that Ambedkar had strongly supported women’s representation in legislatures during discussions on constitutional reforms.
Bommai explained that in 2023, the central government brought an amendment proposing 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with a proposal to increase the number of seats by 50 percent. However, he said the implementation has been delayed and linked to the next census, which he termed as a setback for women’s empowerment.
He urged the Chief Minister to consult experts, reconsider the decision and build consensus within the party for what he called a major reform. Bommai said the issue should not be politicised and must be treated as a step towards strengthening democratic representation for women in India.
