Jammu, April 21 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working President Raman Bhalla, along with former Minister Yogesh Sawhney, on Monday reviewed preparations for a massive protest scheduled for tomorrow against the BJP-led Central government. The review meeting was held at the party headquarters in Jammu and saw strong participation from party workers, reflecting high enthusiasm at the grassroots level.
Addressing the gathering, Raman Bhalla strongly criticized the Centre and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of delaying the implementation of the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill by linking it to the census and delimitation process. He said this move could postpone women’s representation in Parliament until 2029 or even later.
Bhalla termed the Centre’s approach as “double politics,” saying the government claims to support women’s empowerment but is creating obstacles in its implementation. He alleged that linking reservation to delimitation is a political strategy to benefit the ruling party rather than empower women.
Reaffirming the Congress party’s stand, Bhalla demanded that the 33% reservation be implemented immediately based on the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats. He said delaying it further is unfair and denies women their rightful representation.
He added that the national leadership of the Congress has taken a strong stand against what it calls an unnecessary delay.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to him, party leaders believe that linking the reservation to future delimitation weakens the purpose of the law and reduces its immediate impact.
Bhalla said the Congress will continue to raise this issue both inside and outside Parliament and will mobilize public support across the country. He stressed that this is not just a political issue, but a matter of constitutional rights and gender justice.
Former Minister Yogesh Sawhney also addressed the meeting and described the delay as a “betrayal of women.” He said the government has failed to implement the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in its true spirit, which raises serious questions about its commitment to women’s empowerment.
Sawhney also criticized the Prime Minister’s recent national address, saying it focused more on attacking the opposition instead of addressing the key issue of women’s representation. He called upon party workers to ensure maximum participation in the protest, adding that sustained democratic pressure is necessary to make the government act.
Among others who attended the meeting were Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, Ex-MLC Ved Mahajan, and several Assembly Constituency in-charges of Jammu district, including Mangal Bral, Kuldeep Sharma, Rajinder Bhagat, Romal Singh, Satish Sharma, Dwarka Choudhary, Pawan Bhagat, Surinder Kumar, Rajesh Sharma, Sohit Sharma, Sonu Dogra, and Jatin Vashisht.