BJP gave India its first OBC prime minister: JP Nadda in Rajya Sabha

BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday came down heavily on the Congress for demanding an OBC quota within the reservation for women lawmakers saying it was the BJPled NDA that gave the country its first prime minister from the Other Backward ClassesSpeaking in the Rajya Sabha on the 128th Constitution amendment bill to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies Nadda also appealed to the members of the Upper House to unanimously support the legislationThe bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on WednesdayNadda said the Congress did not bother about the OBCs while it was ruling the countryIn an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhis remarks regarding the presence of only three OBC secretaries at the Centre the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader said the OBC reservation in services was implemented only after the Supreme Court asked for it in 1992He said the cutoff for the current panel of secretaries is 1992 and asked the Congress about the number of OBC secretaries during the 20042014 period when the United Progressive Alliance UPA was in power at the CentreIn an apparent jibe at Gandhi Nadda also said a leader will have to become a leader and that taking help from a tutor is not enoughThey Congress talk about the OBCs We should remember that it was the BJPNDA that gave India its first OBC prime minister Narendra Modi he said adding that of the 303 Lok Sabha MPs of the BJP 85 belong to the OBC categoryAlso 27 per cent of the BJP MLAs and 40 per cent MLCs in the country belong to the OBC category he addedNadda further said the BJP has more MPs from the OBC category than the overall strength of the Congress party in the Lok SabhaReferring to triple talaq he alleged that the opposition party was engaged in minority appeasement and votebank politicsNadda also highlighted the measures taken by the Modi government towards women empowermentOn the opposition insisting on immediate implementation of the reservation for women lawmakers he said a government is run by rulesThe BJPs intention is not to take any political advantage from the womens reservation bill If we were to take political advantage we would have said that it would be implemented from now itself he saidThe BJP leader said the procedure being followed by the government for the bill is the only way the shortest way the correct wayEarlier Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the landmark bill to reserve onethird of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for womenThe legislation is widely expected to get the approval of the Upper HouseIt will then require the approval of a majority of the state assemblies It will be implemented after a delimitation exercise based on the Census dataThis is the seventh attempt since 1996 to get the womens reservation bill passedWomen presently make up for nearly half of Indias 95 crore registered voters but comprise only 15 per cent of lawmakers in Parliament and 10 per cent in the state assembliesThe 33 per cent reservation for women will not apply to the Upper House of Parliament and state legislaturesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever