Minister Anupriya Patel confident that PM Modi will protect interest of OBC women

New Delhi: Amid the opposition demand for inclusion of OBC women quota in the women's reservation bill, Union Minister Anupriya Patel on Wednesday expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come up with some steps to protect the interest of women belonging to backward classes.

Patel, a member of the Apna Dal, a BJP ally, said the demand of the opposition is not wrong and it is a "serious issue" as women belonging to backward classes are marginalised. "In our society, women belonging to backward classes are marginalised. Their challenges are different and more, and hence the demand for reservation keeps coming," said Patel, who is a Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.

Stressing that the Modi government has taken several historic steps for the betterment of OBCs, Patel said, "As an ally of the ruling party, I am confident that the prime minister must be thinking about protecting the rights of women of backward classes and will surely do something for them." Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Constitution amendment bill which seeks to reserve 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies for women in the Lower House of Parliament on Wednesday.

Patel said that once the reservation for women is implemented, the percentage of women MPs in Lok Sabha will significantly increase from the current 14 per cent. She also said that Congress members are demanding OBC reservation in the bill, but when it had brought the bill in Rajya Sabha in 2008 and got it passed in 2010, they did not keep any quota for backward classes. "Wasn't it (OBC quota) their priority then? Has this new thought occurred to Congress party now when the Modi government has brought the bill," Patel wondered.

The minister also dismissed the contention of many opposition members that the government has brought the bill as it is eyeing benefit during the 2024 general elections. She said the last population census was held in 2011 and on that basis, the delimitation of seats cannot be done now. "The census data that we have that is very old. On that basis we cannot do delimitation and generate additional seats," Patel said. According to the bill, it will come into effect after the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies which will be carried out after the completion of the next population censu