Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday asserted in the Lok Sabha that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological predecessor, the Jan Sangh, have long supported the expansion of women’s participation in Parliament and state politics.
Speaking during the debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill and related delimitation measures in the special session, Shah cited historical data to highlight the steady rise in women’s representation over the years. He pointed out that the first Lok Sabha had only 22 women members, a number that rose to 51 in the 14th Lok Sabha, reached 71 in the 17th Lok Sabha, and currently stands at 75 in the 18th Lok Sabha.
“This clear upward trend reflects the growing acceptance and encouragement of women in politics,” HM Shah stated. “However, we need to provide a much larger platform to further enhance this participation and give it the momentum it deserves.”
The Home Minister underlined that the present government has backed women’s empowerment both in policy and practice. He referred to prominent BJP leaders who have served as chief ministers, including Uma Bharti in Madhya Pradesh, Anandiben Patel in Gujarat, Sushma Swaraj, and Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan.
Shah noted that Delhi currently has a woman Chief Minister and contrasted this with the Congress party, stating that it has never appointed a woman as Chief Minister in any state during its tenure.
Shah’s remarks came amid a broader debate on constitutional amendments aimed at enabling early implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Discussions in the House also focused on linking the quota with delimitation and the proposed increase in Lok Sabha seats.
The government has maintained that these measures are necessary to ensure that reservation does not reduce the number of general seats.
Shah’s intervention sought to counter Opposition criticism, reiterating that women’s political empowerment has been a consistent priority for the BJP since the Jan Sangh era.
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