New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Union Ministers within the ruling NDA alliance on Saturday attacked the Congress and other opposition parties, terming the Opposition INDIA bloc as 'anti-women'. The reaction stemmed a day after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed to clear the Lok Sabha.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan alleged that the Opposition rejected the Bill under the "garb of delimitation".

He told reporters, "The INDI alliance is anti-women alliance. They don't want women to get their rights."

He also accused the Opposition of not passing the Bill due to "some or the other reason".

Echoing similar view, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, "I believe that the Congress and the other opposition parties have always been anti-women. Opposition party leaders may celebrate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bill was brought down, but the country will never forgive them."

"The women of the country will never forgive them," he asserted.

According to Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is "upset that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in power".

"They (Opposition) thought that this Bill would benefit PM Modi and the NDA and so did not support it. They have betrayed the women of the country," he told IANS.

"The women will seek answers from the opposition parties," Athawale said.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh alleged that the blockage of the Women's Reservation Bill "reflects the character of the Congress".

"The Prime Minister had taken a historic step to empower the country's women, but the Congress is happy to block it. How can they be happy by stalling the attempt to give justice to half of the nation's population?" he said.

"No women in the country will vote for the Congress," Singh echoed.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi commented that if people are not voting for the Congress, the reason is not delimitation.

"People are rejecting them for their intention, policies, behaviour," he said, adding, "Women were to enter the Parliament in big numbers, which the Congress has stopped."

Union Minister Joshi said that the Congress "won't have any benefit" whether the number of seats in the Lok Sabha are increased or not.

"People don't trust them (Congress)," he added.

--IANS

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