People's Democracy

THE CPI(M)’s Delhi state committee has expressed its opposition to the scuttling of the constitutional provision for rotation of seats in the forthcoming elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The constitution (seventy fourth amendment) act 1992 had provided for rotation of seats reserved for women in municipalities. The logic behind this was to ensure the horizontal spread of opportunities for greater participation of women in the political process. In pursuance of the above provision, the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi had decided in March 1994 the schedule of rotation for six successive MCD elections.

It is shocking that the union home ministry has ordered about holding the forthcoming MCD elections on the basis of reservations decided for the last elections, thereby sabotaging the rotation principle. The step was taken with the full complicity of the Congress state government and the BJP which currently controls the MCD and the central government. It is nothing but a shameless attempt to deprive women of the benefits that are due to them under the 74th amendment act. It lays bare the hypocrisy of the BJP and the Congress claims that they are champions of greater participation of women in public life and politics. Besides, it is also weighted against the scheduled castes, as the seats reserved for them were also to be rotated.

Claims notwithstanding, the BJP and the Congress have no concern for greater political empowerment of women and the scheduled castes. They are only interested in feathering the nests of their sitting councilors and avoiding inner-party wranglings that may arise if rotation is implemented. The CPI(M)’s state unit has called upon all democratic minded people to protest against this crass opportunism of the BJP and the Congress and to ensure that the principle of rotation is not sabotaged. (INN)