Kanimozhi Karunanidhi in Lok Sabha on Friday (Enhanced using AI).
DMK MPs on Friday were again seen wearing black in Lok Sabha in a protest against the delimitation bill, while their leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said tying it to the women’s reservation bill was a “trap” by the BJP-led Centre. The DMK MPs were sporting black clothes on Thursday as well.
Kanimozhi also responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “kala tika” remark aimed at her party’s protest against the women’s quota amendment, saying black symbolises goddess Kali and asserting that the party would continue its agitation till the end.
The Prime Minister, while stepping into the Lok Sabha debate on the proposed changes to the women’s reservation law on Thursday, had taken a dig at DMK members for turning up in black attire. He remarked that their clothing acted like a “kala tika”, traditionally used to ward off evil, and quipped that it was customary to apply it before beginning something auspicious.
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On Friday, Kanimozhi, dressed in a black saree, said she was taken aback that those advocating Hindutva did not associate the colour with goddess Kali. She added that black also represents Periyar, the ideological figure of the DMK, whose teachings, she said, inspire them to persist in their fight.
Kanimozhi also called for the women’s reservation law – which proposes a 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies – to be rolled out from 2029 without altering the current strength of 543 seats. She further insisted that the delimitation process should not be tied to the implementation of the quota.
On Thursday, alongside the protest inside Parliament, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin raised a black flag in the state and set ablaze a copy of the delimitation bill, labelling it a “black law” that, he claimed, would reduce Tamil people to “refugees” in their own land.
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Congress questions 2023 law notification
Speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament, Congress MP KC Venugopal pointed out the Centre’s notification of the 2023 legislation on Thursday night. “In 2023, the entire House passed the women’s reservation bill with consensus. These people talk about women’s empowerment everywhere. Yesterday, we saw the Prime Minister’s drama. But the 2023 legislation, a constitutional amendment, was notified only last night,” he said.
“Yesterday, the entire opposition levelled the charge that you deliberately delayed the Women’s Reservation Bill. This substantiates that argument… Let them withdraw this bill and call an all-party meeting. We are ready for the complete implementation of Women’s Reservation Bill within the existing 543 seats. Keep 543 as the total number and reserve one-third for women. You are not safeguarding the interests of women through this bill. If you truly want to safeguard the interests of women, this is the best way. In the name of women, you are trying to hijack democracy, which we cannot allow,” the Congress MP said.
Centre’s clarification on notification of 2023 law
Earlier, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said outside Parliament, “This is a process. We are currently introducing the law for amendment. The older law wasn’t implemented, which is why the commencement notification was issued. This is a process. Let’s not make the process an issue.”
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