Key Takeaways
- Kharge is pressing for the women reservation bill to boost female representation in Parliament.
- Current women’s representation stands at roughly 10‑15% in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, far below global averages.
- The opposition links rising unemployment and inflation to the need for more inclusive governance.
New Delhi: Raising the two key issues of unemployment and inflation, Congress President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday pitched for passing women reservation bill in the ongoing special session of the Parliament.
Participating in the discussion on “Parliamentary journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”, Kharge said that women of the country should get their due.
“The world has changed. At this time, share of women members in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is 10% and 14%, respectively. In state assemblies, women’s participation is about 10%.
In 1952, during Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru‘s tenure, only 5% of Parliamentarians were women. Even after 70 years, the figure remains between 10-15%.
During his speech, he took dig at the government on multiple occasions and tried to put it in the dock and accused it of ignoring the opposition.
He also said that the government tries to pass the bills in haste and very few draft legislations are sent to Standing Committee for scrutiny.
Taking a jibe at the Modi government, Kharge said that there was need to change the current situation and not the names.
“What will change if we go from here (old Parliament building) to there (new Parliament building). If you really want to bring meaningful change then change the current situation,” he said.
In recent weeks, there has been speculation of government mulling to change the country’s official name to Bharat.
Kharge raised the issue of price rise and employment saying that if they are not controlled they could be a threat to democracy.
He noted that unemployment has been on the rise and as many as 8 crore educated youth are not finding jobs.
“Unemployment and inflation are threat to democracy,” he said.
