Jammu/Srinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary and party in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Tarun Chugh, on Tuesday asked the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and its vice president Omar Abdullah to clarify their stand on the 33 per cent reservation for women under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
In a statement, Chugh said Omar Abdullah should clearly state whether the National Conference supports or opposes the legislation instead of making what he termed “evasive statements”.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre had taken a historic step towards the political empowerment of women through the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
The BJP leader alleged that the National Conference’s position on the issue reflected an ambiguous and regressive approach towards women’s rights.
Targeting the Abdullah family, Chugh alleged that women’s rights in Jammu and Kashmir remained restricted for decades under the provisions of Article 370 and Article 35A.
He referred to the “Daughters’ Bill” introduced in 2004 and claimed it sought to deprive women of rights on the basis of whom they married.
Chugh also criticised the so-called “Gupkar alliance”, alleging that it had failed to safeguard the rights of women in Jammu and Kashmir.
In contrast, he said, the Modi government had launched major initiatives for women’s empowerment, including the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme.
He further alleged that attempts to delay or impose conditions on the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam showed that the National Conference was unwilling to support genuine political empowerment of women.
Chugh urged Omar Abdullah and the National Conference to publicly support the women’s reservation law and abandon what he described as an “anti-women mindset.”
