DMK MP Kanimozhi had scathingly attacked the central ruling BJP regime in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday - September 20 over the Women's Reservation Bill that was tabled in the lower house on Tuesday. Raising to speak in the lower house on Wednesday amidst heckling from the BJP members, Kanimozhi called out the government over the veil of secrecy that shrouded the drafting and tabling of the women's reservation bill. 

A staunch critic of the BJP regime, Kanimozhi has also demanded the government to stop saluting and worshipping women and allow them to walk as equals. She further asked the BJP if the party had consulted stakeholders before tabling a bill that was already passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

As the Parliament began its debate on the bill on Wednesday, Kanimozhi said, "I myself raised this issue many times in Parliament. The government's reply was very consistent. They said, 'We have to involve all stakeholders, political parties, and then build a consensus before bringing the bill." She further said, "I would like to know what consensus was built, what discussions were held. This bill was brought shrouded in secrecy. We didn't know why this special session was called for." 

"At the all-party leaders' meeting, there was no mention of this bill. I don't know if any of the political leaders were called for deliberations. Suddenly, the bill popped up on our computers, like a jack-in-the-box. Is this going to be the way this government will function? Like we are suddenly seeing lotuses blooming from the uniforms of secretariat staff. Is everything going to be a surprise like this?", she added. 

On Tuesday, the Women's Reservation Bill, named 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', was tabled at a much larger Lok Sabha chamber by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. The bill proposes 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. In what has become a crucial opening for the new Parliament building, the government said that the bill is aimed to enabling greater participation of women in policy-making at state and national levels.

Speaking about the bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government was finally ready to enact the Women's Reservation Bill. Modi termed this decision 'historic' and said that there are certain days which are considered milestones in the history of every country. He said, "Such milestones come in the development journey of every country, when it proudly says that today we have created a new history. In the first speech of the first session of the new house, I am saying with great confidence and pride that today's moment, today's day is going to be recorded in history."