Durgapur (West Bengal) [India], April 13 : Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' was passed in Parliament in 2023 to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and that the promise should be fulfilled at the earliest.
Talking with ANI during a road show here, Amit Shah said the BJP will come to power in the assembly elections in West Bengal with an absolute majority.
He rejected opposition criticism of the government's plans to bring the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill amid the assembly elections campaign by convening a special sitting of the budget session of Parliament and said the promise made to the women should be fulfilled as soon as possible.
"It was passed in 2023. Now, the matter is of keeping the promise. The Parliament of this country has unanimously promised to give 33 per cent reservation to the women of this country in the legislatures. This promise should be fulfilled as soon as possible," Amit Shah told ANI.
He was asked about allegations that the proposed bill was an "election stunt".
The government has a special sitting of Parliament on April 16,17, 18 by extending the Budget session to get the proposed bill to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed and implement the provisions from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
Opposition parties have also voiced concerns over the proposed delimitation and the impact on the number of seats. They have said that the interests of states that have done well in terms of population control should be adequately protected.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Nari Shakti Vandan programme at Vigyan Bhawan today and said India is about to take one of the biggest decisions of the 21st century, "a decision dedicated to Nari Shakti."
Describing the moment as historic, the Prime Minister said the nation's Parliament is close to creating a new history that will fulfill the visions of the past and the resolutions of the future. Emphasizing the importance of social justice, he stressed that the country envisions an egalitarian India where social justice is not merely a slogan but an integral part of the work culture. "The wait of decades, from state assemblies to the nation's Parliament, is coming to an end," he said.
In his interaction with ANI, Amit Shah also rejected Trinamool Congress' "outsider" allegations against the BJP, saying no one believes them and that the first Chief Minister of Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal will be a person born in the state and educated in Bengali medium.
Amit Shah said the BJP government will drive out infiltrators not just from Bengal but from the entire country.
"No one believes this. The first Chief Minister of Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal will be a Bengali-speaking person, born in Bengal and educated in Bengali medium," he told ANI.He was anwering a query about the ruling Trinamool Congress' 'outsider' allegations against the BJP.
Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP of trying to add names of outsiders to the voter list.
Amit Shah also said that a BJP Chief Minister will be sworn in in the state after the results are announced.
"This time, the people of Bengal are definitely going to bring change in Bengal, and on 5th (May), BJP Chief Minister will be sworn in here," he told ANI.
He was asked about the support the BJP is getting in the state.
Asked if BJP is coming to power in the state, Amit Shah said: "Yes, with an absolute majority, ahead of the halfway mark."
He hit out at Mamata Banerjee over her allegations concerning Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state and said while he can understand the Trinamool Congress leader's allegations against the Election Commission, she is now levelling allegations against the judiciary.
"This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. I understand Mamata Banerjee's allegations against the Election Commission, but now she is blaming the judiciary, because the entire SIR is being carried out under the judiciary," Amit Shah told ANI.
He was asked about allegations from Trinamool Congress that the names of Hindu voters had also been deleted during the SIR exercise.
Mamata Banerjee has been attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party over SIR."SIR is a huge scam. This is not SIR but an attempt to bring the BJP to power. This is a scam to delete names. Ninety lakh names have been deleted," she alleged while addressing in Keshiary in the state.
She earlier said TMC will stand by those whose names were not there in the voter rolls following SIR and also made allegations about the removal of names of some people belonging to Matua community after the SIR exercise.
Amit Shah, who earlier addressed rallies in Paschim Bardhaman and Birbhum, accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of turning "Sonar Bangla into syndicate raj," and said "BJP will work on building Sonar Bangla" as envisioned by Guru Rabindranath Tagore.
Amit Shah accused Mamata Banerjee of turning the slogan of "Maa, Maati, Maanush" into "mafia, muscleman and money power gang"."BJP will work on building Sonar Bangla as envisioned by Guru Rabindranath Tagore," he said.
He accused the Trinamool Congress government of not giving the required land to complete border fencing.
"BSF needs 600 acres of land to fence the border. However, Mamata Didi refuses to give land, which leads to infiltration. Mamata ji shelters infiltrators, and they, in turn, elect her."
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 and votes will be counted on May 4.