Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha on Wednesday alleged that both BJP and Congress have no intention to pass the women’s reservation Bill in Parliament. She said only legislation can increase women’s representation in Parliament and state Assemblies.
Kavitha was reacting to criticism of BRS by BJP and Congress over giving tickets to only six women for the coming Telangana Assembly elections. The BRS legislator told a news conference that both parties were trying to draw political mileage instead of showing their sincerity in passing the Bill in Parliament to provide 33 percent reservation to women in the Parliament and Assemblies.
After BRS announced candidates for 115 Assembly seats, BJP and Congress slammed the party saying Kavitha had staged dharna at Jantar Mantar to demand 33 percent reservation but her party gave tickets to only six women. “I am happy that the parties which did not respond to dharna then are now responding. But it is unfortunate that instead of addressing the real issue, they are trying to play a political game,” she said.
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She wondered why the parties were attacking her instead of asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi why he had not passed the Bill despite two full
terms. Kavitha wanted to know what Congress has done since 2010 to pass the Bill.
She asked why Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka never spoke on the issue. Kavitha announced that she will stage a protest again at Jantar Mantar during the winter session of Parliament in December to demand passage of the women’s reservation Bill. “I will invite Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Smriti Irani, and D K Aruna to join the protest. Let us see who is sincere and who is not,” she said.
Stating that only legislation can enhance women’s representation in the legislative bodies, she pointed out that 44 lakh women came into the local bodies only after legislation was made. She said that except for BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, all states are giving 33 percent reservation to women in local bodies.
Kavitha, daughter of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, asked if women should confine themselves to being sarpanches and ZPTCs. She also alleged that BJP-ruled Haryana recently passed a new law that will stop women’s entry into local bodies.
She said it was unfortunate that women leaders are not coming forward on the issue and women were being used against women by all the parties to sideline the issue.
Kavitha said there was one woman minister in the Nehru cabinet and now after 70 years, there are ministers in the Modi cabinet. Women’s representation was 4.5 percent in the first Parliament and after 70 years there was only 8 percent increase.
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