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BJP has no original ideas. Even women’s reservation is copied from Congress blueprint

It is no coincidence that RSS-BJP leaders avoid press conferences. They lack justification for their erratic actions, and statements.

Women’s reservation was originally a Congress idea. It was first introduced in 1989 by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill. It contained a provision for reservation of women in rural and urban local bodies. It was passed in the Lok Sabha but failed in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, another Congress Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao, reserved one-third of seats for women in Panchayats and urban local bodies through the 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992–93. That was the first implementation of women’s reservation in India.

Congress has been clear in its push for women’s reservation. It’s the BJP that entangled it twice with other issues, resulting in yet to be implemented in parliamentary bodies. Adding delimitation to it only ensured that it will not be passed in Parliament. It would be naive to think that the BJP bosses thought otherwise.

In any case, expanding reservation politics everywhere shows the BJP is bereft of ideas. It has mostly imitated the Congress. The ‘Hindutva’ of yore has only been a propaganda prop. But in concrete policies, its record has largely followed the Congress.

Socialism, Gandhism, secularism, or reservation—these have been the ideas and actions of the BJP. The party’s declared principle is ‘Gandhian socialism.’ Its leaders professed ‘real secularism’. Now, their current leaders have expanded what they called Congress’ ‘tushtikaran’ (appeasement) into their ‘triptikaran’ (gratification).

They pronounce it with pride, saying that the Congress only deceived Muslims, whereas we are really giving them progress. Special coaching, special scholarships, special universities, special schemes for minorities, increased recruitment in central services—such achievements are listed by responsible BJP leaders.

Finally, this obsession with reservations, over which BJP leaders are now congratulating........

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