The Modi government at the Center has taken the historic step of giving 33 percent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and Assembly. The Women's Reservation Bill, which has been hanging in the balance for the last 3 decades, is going to turn into reality. The Modi government has made a big political bet before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by giving one-third share to half the population, but will not fixing the quota for the OBC community in women's reservation prove politically costly for the BJP?
Quota has been fixed for SC-ST women in the Women's Reservation Bill, but no separate reservation has been given for OBC women. In such a situation, all the parties including Congress, SP, RJD, BSP, JDU are demanding from the Modi government to give separate quota for women of OBC community.
Not only the opposition but BJP's OBC leader and former Chief Minister Uma Bharti has also expressed her displeasure over the absence of reservation for OBCs in the Women's Reservation Bill. In this way the agenda of reservation for OBC women is being set.
Sonia Gandhi played OBC card
During the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi supported the bill, but also raised the demand for reservation for OBC women. He said that after conducting the census, women coming from backward classes should get reservation. This is the most important time to express gratitude towards women. She said, “I demand from the government to remove all the problems of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act and implement it as soon as possible.” Sonia said that Congress demands that the women's quota bill along with sub-quota for SC, ST, OBC should be implemented immediately. There is a big change in the stand of Congress regarding OBC.
From SP to JDU playing OBC card
The mood of the political parties which have been standing in the way of women's reservation for three decades has also changed with time, but their stand is still intact. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that women's reservation should be a balance of gender justice and social justice. In this, reservation for backward, Dalit, minority, tribal (PDA) women should be clear in definite percentage form.
When SP MP Dimple Yadav raised the demand of OBC, Ram Gopal Yadav said that we will support, but our demand on women reservation bill has always been that OBC women cannot compete properly with the educated women of upper caste. Therefore there should be a quota within the quota for them. Similarly, JDU leader Nitish Kumar also supported, but placed the demand for reservation of women from backward and extremely backward classes like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes within the scope of women's reservation.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi said on Tuesday that the Women's Reservation Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government should have provided separate quota for SC, ST and OBC women. But, Modi government has betrayed SC, ST and OBC. BSP chief Mayawati said that additional reservation should be given to women of SC-ST community. There should also be OBC quota in women's reservation, if this does not happen then there will be injustice to these classes.
Uma Bharti raised the issue of OBC
On women's reservation, Uma Bharti said that she is disappointed that there is no provision of reservation for women from other backward classes in the bill. He said that if we do not ensure reservation for OBC women, their trust in BJP will be broken.
Uma Bharti said that she had also written a letter to PM Modi in this regard. Uma Bharti said that I have mentioned that in the letter when I had opposed this bill. When Deve Gowda's government introduced the bill, she stood up on her seat to protest. After this the bill was sent to the standing committee.
Uma Bharti said that when the time came to do something for OBCs, we stepped back. However, I was confident that PM Modi would take care of it. I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in the morning and maintained silence until the bill was presented. I was very disappointed to see that there is no OBC reservation in the bill. I was disappointed because women from backward classes have not been given the opportunity they should have. Not only Uma Bharti, Anupriya Patel, leader of BJP's ally Apna Dal (S) and minister in the Modi government, supported the women's reservation bill and demanded the inclusion of the OBC community as well.
OBC's agenda is a challenge for BJP
It will not be easy for the Modi government to deal with the way the opposition parties as well as the BJP and its allies are raising the demand for separate reservation for the OBC community in women's reservation. OBC community voters have played an important role in the political rise of BJP. BJP has tried to establish PM Modi as an OBC face, which has also benefited the party politically.
The Women's Reservation Bill was pending for the last three decades because reservation was not being given to the OBC community. Due to this issue, Sharad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Yadav have been opposing women's reservation.
Questions have been raised on women's reservation because its benefits will be limited to some special classes. There may be a decrease in the political participation of Dalit, backward class and minority women of the country. These leaders demand that seats should be reserved for women from Dalit, backward class and minority communities within women's reservation.
On this issue, SP, RJD and JDU have been opposing the women's reservation bill. Whenever an attempt was made to bring the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, the leaders of these parties not only opposed but even tore the bill. In such a situation, when Modi government has brought women's reservation, no separate quota has been set for OBCs.
How will BJP help OBC community?
After the implementation of Mandal Commission, the politics of the country has completely changed and the entire politics has centered around OBCs. Backward classes remain the political pivot. When BJP came to power under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2014, the OBC community played an important role in it. In such a situation, the way the opposition is raising the agenda of not fixing the quota for the OBC community in women's reservation and has opened a front demanding caste census, it is not easy for the BJP to deal with it.
The Congress party is also making efforts to garner the votes of the OBC community. The way in the CWC meeting in Hyderabad, emphasis was laid on abolishing the 50 per cent limit of reservation and it has been decided to move ahead with the slogan 'Whoever has the same share, the same has the same share' and the way Sonia Gandhi has talked about quota in women's reservation. There has been a demand for quota within the BJP, this may increase the concern for BJP in the 2024 elections.
OBC leaders like Nitish Kumar, Akhilesh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav are standing with the opposition alliance INDIA camp, in which Congress also plays an important role. In such a situation, BJP and Narendra Modi will have to find a new political strategy to keep the OBC community simple?
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