The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) has launched a sharp critique of the BJP-led central government in the wake of the failure of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. Terming the bill a “malicious attempt” to push through a controversial delimitation exercise under the guise of women’s empowerment, the party has hailed the legislation’s defeat as a major triumph for public interest.
In a press statement issued on April 20, SPCC President Gopal Chettri alleged that the Centre had attempted to deceive the nation by linking women’s reservation—a long-awaited policy goal—with a delimitation process based on the 2011 Census. According to the Congress committee, this linkage was a strategic “decoy” designed to delay the actual implementation of reservation rather than a genuine effort to enhance women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The SPCC has reaffirmed its consistent support for women’s reservation, emphasizing that it should be implemented immediately and without any conditional prerequisites. Furthermore, the committee raised concerns over the structural shortcomings of the defeated bill. Chettri highlighted that the proposed legislation failed to provide necessary sub-quotas for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), nor did it offer sufficient safeguards for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. The party characterized this omission as a betrayal of marginalized groups who deserve equitable representation.
Beyond the national policy debate, the SPCC also directed criticism toward the Sikkim state government. The committee accused local authorities of politicizing the sensitive issue by mobilizing women for rallies, labeling these actions a “drama” that serves political agendas rather than empowering the women involved. The SPCC argued that such displays undermined the dignity of the very demographic they claim to represent.
Looking ahead, the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee has issued a set of clear demands. The party is calling for the immediate implementation of a robust women’s reservation law that explicitly includes sub-quotas for OBC, SC, and ST communities. Additionally, the SPCC has demanded an end to the use of women in political campaigns as a tool for electoral gain. As the political discourse continues to evolve following the bill’s failure in Parliament, the SPCC’s stance highlights the growing pressure on the government to decouple women’s reservation from contentious delimitation plans and address the demands for more inclusive legislative representation.
