April 16, 2026
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s speech on The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026
“Respected speaker sir, while speaking on the topic of The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, I stand here on behalf of AITC to demand 50% seat reservation for women in this house—only then we can fully co-operate with you to support the bill because 33% women candidates have always been given by our Hon. CM Mamata Banerjee whenever there was an election in Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha. And the female candidates have always won, she has always won. Today, we have 41% female MPs in this Sansad Bhawan including both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. No political party in India could ever do this before. We find this law as a false and pseudo one because it is not brought to empower women. It is to rearrange the constituencies so that the fate of the women can be controlled through the existing patriarchal system. We believe in the empowerment of women and our leader Hon. Mamata Banerjee is always fighting for this cause. I want you to remind one particular event, 28 years ago in 1998, our leader Mamata Banerjee fought against the patriarchal MPs of this house making a demand for a Women’s Reservation Bill to reinforce women empowerment. It was not passed that time. This year budget session started on 28th January and we have discussed so many things during the two phases of this session. If you have given this bill that much of importance, my question is why you did not bring this amendment in that period. Now a special session has been called for that. We demanded for a special session when terrorists from outside the country killed 26 common people in Pahalgam. But there was no special session. When Operation Sindoor took place, we again demanded for a special session but it was of no use. We feel there is some ill intention behind calling this special session in such a hurried manner. Actually behind this pseudo law, the electoral process is the ultimate aim that has been articulated by Surya Prakash ji. Since election has began, he is raising his voice for Southern India. He has mentioned that Southern India got funds 250 times higher whereas for Bengal’s starving workers and 100 days workers, 2 lakh crore rupees are pending by the central government. It is all about electoral power. The reservation process for seats is getting complex, therefore, a doubt hovers as the delimitation progresses. We say that this the duty of government to decide the sitting of the house, then why this government delayed the introduction of the bill without the required amendment? Since, election is going on in different states, we have started doubting that this has been excercised here only to overcome the difficulties of election. The different sectors where the institutional patronization of perpetrators is already established, for example, consider that case of Unnao in 2017. I went there. Another case was in Kathua in 2018. I went there too. In 2020, a girl from Dalit community was killed in Hathras. I visited there also. We have seen the silence when women in Manipur were sexually assaulted. This government remained silent then. We can’t rely on the fact that this government is trying hard for women’s reservation. This law has been modified in such a manner so that a male candidate has no need to change his present seat. It’s also a patriarchal system since Bharatiya Janata Party has 11% women representation here whereas our Trinamool Congress has 52% women, fighting for justice. So, we always support 33% reservation and we demand to raise this share upto 50%. I am not going to utter the name of Bharatiya Janata Party’s social media chief since he is not a member of this house. In 2013, he said that “when are trying to free all kinds of reservation, the demand for women reservation is creating a new wave. This is the time when we should refrain ourselves from all types of reservation, therefore the demand for women’s reservation can not be acceptable at this stage.” This is what they had said, not my words. That reservation which is in use in West Bengal without any law is because of Hon. Mamata Banerjee who also voiced for women’s reservation in 1998. She once went to the house of that time’s CM to ensure justice for a mute and deaf woman who was raped. At that time, the police pulled her hair and dragged her outside the house. But Hon. Mamata Banerjee never shifted her position from this ideal. She is still fighting with the ideal of Swami Vivekananda who said, “If the women of India do not wake up, India will not progress.” She always remembers what our revolutionary poet Nazrul Islam had said, “Everything that is great in the world, all the works, beneficial and good, half must be credited to woman and to man half only we should.” For those women who participated in that 50% creation, we demand 50% reservation. For the women empowerment in our state, she is working day and night. The schemes like ‘Kanyashree’, ‘Lokkhir Bhandar’ and ‘Rupashree’ are there to advance women. Smt. Mamata Banerjee will be remembered forever for her tireless efforts to support girls in their study by providing continuous financial assistance. So, we should follow her and implement 50% reservation. Here the party stands for women reservation while one of their Ex. MP questioned about the existence, appearance and lineage of goddess Durga in this house. Now, I want to question them after raising doubt about goddess Durga’s existence, why are you justifying women reservation?. This pseudo bill is actually the delimitation bill and area reorganization bill that they are trying to carry on without making any noise. By omitting common people and after area reorganization, they are trying to dismantle the democratic framework of this country by creating division among people on the basis of race, religion and community. We are not going to accept the way you are amalgamating two different issues which are women reservation and rearrangement of constituent area. And then you are saying that there will be a delimitation commission, … Sir,I am pretty sure that the proposed delimitation commission will be an authoritarian agency and it will harm the people of the state. The situation that you are trying to create is carrying a horrible message for our country. In the year 1962, 46% of women turned out to cast their votes which changed into 65.78% when the Lok Sabha election took place in 2024. We, as AITC, are giving 41% of female candidates and BJP is providing only 14%. Now I want to ask why you did not ensure 33% female candidates in electoral roles. Why is not the percentage of female members in the house 33%? We, AITC, have the aforesaid percentage of MPs in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha including the women Ministers in West Bengal. The representation from tribal and minority communities can be noticed. Why are not you following that? Because you are thinking something but presenting completely another thing. That’s why I am saying it as a pseudo law. We are giving our speech very cautiously about this pseudo law. If this government stands for 50% reservation only then we will support it. You have presented this bill at a time like this when election is taking place in all over India. If we raise question about it then it would be easier for you to say that AITC is misogynist. But AITC has already proved it which is called in English as ‘walk the talk’. We have already provided 33% reservation, now we are demanding for 50%. The Aparajita bill which was passed by West Bengal government to penalize the perpetrators involved in crime against women, is still waiting for the final nod. It is with great sadness, regret, and pain that I say this. … (Expunged as ordered by the Chair) In Aparajita bill, we assured the punishment for rapist and for those who try to harass women and you have held up this bill. सर, मंअपराखजता खबल केबारेमंबोल रही हू। आखिर ं अपराखजता खबल क्यं रुका हुआ है? मखहलाए, खजनका बलात्कार हो रहा ह ं ै, खजन पर अत्याचार हो रहा है, उसके खिलाफ हमनेअपराखजता खबल यहां भेजा, लेखकन यह खबल क्यं पास नहं हुआ? यह मेरा प्रश्न है। इस खबल को जल्द सेजल्द पास होना चाखहए। I have more questions. Today in India, there should be rights and reservation for working women. Sadly in the Election Commission there is no woman, there is woman as a chief justice, in foreign service there are only 11 women, a very few women are there as high commissioners or ambassadors, only 0.4% women are in the police, and only 19% women officers are there in the IPS. 53% seats are vacant in the National Women Commission. मैडम, आप गोमराह मत कर ु । मं ंआपकी इज्जत करती हू। I was saying that 53% seats are vacant in the NCW, women are ं not being recruited for those positions. Women are facing a lot of problems in their workplaces. There are so many institutions under the central government from where women are forced to resign, for instance, All India Institution for Medical Sciences. You all must have known that 15% of female doctora have resigned, in Bhubaneswar it is 12%, in Patna it is 7%—why are they not getting proper dignity? Today the way Hon. Mamata Banerjee is standing with the women in West Bengal and working for the betterment of them indicates how dedicatedly we want female reservation. You are clearly attacking those states which worked hard in the sectors like population control and development through delimitation by reducing their seats. This is against our federal structure and this is an injustice done by you. We won’t hear anything from the party which questions the identity of Maa Durga. We haven’t forgotten the MP who molested female wrestlers and being safeguarded by you here. That is why we will say that bring this bill in the correct manner, separate this bill from the rearrangement of constituent areas, and give proper respect to women— only then we will stand with you. Namaskar, Jai Hind!”
