Women's Groups Demand Immediate Implementation of Reservation Bill
Women's rights organizations staged a 2-kilometer march in Vijayawada on May 7, 2026, demanding the immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill without preconditioning it on the completion of the Census or delimitation exercise. The protest, organized by the Joint Forum of Women's Organisations, saw hundreds of activists march from Tummalapalli Kalakshetram to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Smruthivanam on Bandar Road, calling for legislative action on gender representation.
Speakers accused the Central government of delaying the Bill despite its passage in Parliament, with A.P. Women's Federation State general secretary P. Durga Bhavani stating that successive governments had used various pretexts to stall the measure for over 30 years. She emphasized that the Centre's decision to link the Bill to delimitation was an unnecessary barrier.
All India Democratic Women's Association national leader D. Ramadevi called the delay a denial of constitutional rights, while Congress leader Sunkara Padmasri criticized the government for treating women as a vote bank and failing to ensure justice in cases of gender-based violence. Former MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao, who inaugurated the event, also condemned the Modi government for inaction.
Leaders from women's, labor, and civil society organizations participated in the demonstration. The forum announced plans to intensify advocacy through state-wide consultations and renewed pressure on elected representatives ahead of the next parliamentary session.