Was told to ‘go home and cook’, recalls Supriya Sule

Amid a debate on women’s reservation bill in Lok Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday attacked the ruling BJP, saying a former Bharayatiya Janta Party Maharashtra chief had asked her to go home and cook food.

Speaking in the Lower House of Parliament today, the MP from Maharashtra’s Baramati said, “Nishikant Dubey said that INDIA is on the side of people who ran women down and spoke derogatorily…There was a Head of the BJP in Maharashtra. He told me personally on record on television – “Supriya Sule ghar jaao, khana banao, desh koi aur chala lega. Hum log chalayenge.” This is what the BJP’s mindset is…”

“Another minister in their cabinet used a derogatory word against me. Your minister makes personal comments on elected women. I don’t even react,” he added.

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.

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 census.

Implementing the Women’s Reservation Bill 2023, or the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, without a fresh census and delimitation exercise could expose the legislation to a legal challenge as there needs to be criteria for reserving a particular seat for women.

Government sources, however, explained that the women’s reservation bill has to wait for a fresh census and delimitation exercise. “There has to be criteria to reserve any seat for a women candidate. If we do this, without a fresh census and latest data, it will be up for legal challenge. The last census data is of 2011 and the last delimitation was done even before that. The 2021 census was delayed due to the Covid pandemic,” a government source explained.