Shimla, April 19 -- A war of words erupted between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the Women's Quota Bill on Saturday with the Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur accusing the Congress of having "anti-women mindset" and the latter alleging that the ruling party in Centre was misleading the country. Stepping up his criticism of Congress and its allied opposition parties, former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said, "By opposing the amendments introduced in the "Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam" (Women's Reservation Bill), these parties have conclusively proven that they are not in favour of granting women their constitutional rights-an act for which the nation's womenfolk will never forgive them." Taking a jibe, Jai Ram, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Himachal, remarked that the Congress has become confined solely to the Gandhi family and has no desire to provide opportunities for other talented women to emerge in the political arena. He argued that this is precisely why the right to reservation-an entitlement the nation's womenfolk had awaited for decades-has today fallen victim to the Congress's 'anti-women-empowerment politics'." Public works department minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday alleged that the Bill brought by the BJP was aimed more at political gains than genuine women empowerment, and accused the ruling party of attempting to alter democratic balance through delimitation. Addressing the media in Shimla, Singh said, "The Congress and opposition parties had made it clear that if the 2023 Bill was brought in its original form, it would have been passed unanimously. However, the present version carries political motives aimed at altering the democratic structure." Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi accused BJP of misleading country on the issue of women's reservation, alleging that while the law has already been passed, it is not being implemented in the rightspirit. "No political party in Parliament opposed the Women's Reservation Bill. It has already been passed and has become a law, but the BJP is not implementing it. Instead, it is using delimitation as an excuse for political gains," said Negi. Adding, Negi said, "Equitable representation of all states is essential in law-making. If larger states dominate due to higher numbers, smaller states will have little say. That is not healthy for a federal structure."...