Ahead of a special three-day sitting of Parliament to amend the Women’s Reservation Act, the BJP and BJD in Odisha engaged in a heated exchange on Sunday, each asserting itself as the primary architect of women’s empowerment.
While the ruling BJP attributed the historic implementation of the women’s quota in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJD countered by highlighting the decades-long efforts of the late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and the Leader of the Opposition, Naveen Patnaik.
The Women’s Reservation Act, officially known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, is set to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, with 273 reserved for women. Although the 33 per cent reservation was constitutionalised in 2023, it was initially linked to a delimitation exercise following the 2027 Census – potentially delaying enforcement until 2034. The upcoming special session aims to amend the Act to ensure implementation by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
During a press conference, Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida stated that women have been historically sidelined despite making up nearly 48.5 per cent of the population. She described the Adhiniyam as a transformative step toward bringing women into mainstream decision-making.
“For decades, women of the country were deprived of their rights, even though they constitute nearly 48.5 per cent of the total population. Despite this, their political participation has remained limited. The times are changing,” Parida said.
ନାରୀ ଶକ୍ତି ବନ୍ଦନ ଅଧିନିୟମ ଲାଗୁହେବା ସହ ବିଶ୍ୱର ସବୁଠୁ ବଡ଼ ଗଣତନ୍ତ୍ରର ଦୀର୍ଘ ଦିନର ବହୁ ପ୍ରତୀକ୍ଷିତ ଶୁଭ ମୁହୂର୍ତ୍ତର ଅୟମାରମ୍ଭ ହେବ । 9667173333 ରେ ମିସ୍ଡ କଲ୍ କରି ଏବଂ ସାମାଜିକ ଗଣମାଧ୍ୟମ ଜରିଆରେ ନାରୀ ଶକ୍ତି ବନ୍ଦନ ଅଧିନିୟମକୁ ସମର୍ଥନ ଜଣାଇବା ପାଇଁ ଆହ୍ୱାନ କରୁଛି । #NariShaktiVandan @narendramodi… pic.twitter.com/w7Iyio6CYw
— Pravati Parida (@PravatiPOdisha) April 12, 2026
“The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a powerful step to bring women into the mainstream of the decision-making process by providing 33 per cent reservation to them in Parliament and state assemblies,” said Parida.
Parida, who oversees the Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti department, further credited the Prime Minister with fostering social and economic empowerment through initiatives like Ujjwala Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, and the Lakhpati Didi scheme. She also highlighted the state’s Subhadra Yojana as a pioneering effort in this direction.
She also pointed out that Modi has made efforts to empower women socially and economically.
Odisha’s Subhadra Yojana has become the pioneer of women’s empowerment, she said.
Responding to the Deputy CM statement, BJD leader Tukuni Sahu argued that the foundation of political reservation was laid by Biju Patnaik, who introduced a 33 per cent quota for women in the three-tier panchayat system during his 1990-1995 tenure. Sahu asserted that the “real credit” for the movement belongs to him.
“Biju Babu had worked for women’s reservation during his time. Therefore, the real credit should go to Biju Patnaik,” she said.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, in a statement, said Odisha has gone ahead with its transformative efforts. He reminded the public that Naveen Patnaik later increased the local body reservation for women to 50 per cent and actively broke gender barriers by appointing women to traditionally male-dominated departments.
The BJD leader said that Naveen Patnaik changed the traditional notion and appointed women to traditionally men-dominated departments.
“Naveen Patnaik had sent teams from Odisha to several states for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Now, after a delay, the move is being undertaken.”
