Various organizations demand passage of Women Reservation Bill

New Delhi: Demanding passage of Women's Reservation Bill in the Winter session of the Parliament, scores of representatives of various women organizations held a public rally at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday.

Even After 69 years of Independence, women in India who constitute nearly 50 percent of the population have only 11 per cent representation in our Parliament. An affirmative action in the form of reservation of seats for women in the State Legislature and Parliament is imperative, said Dr Ranjana Kumari, director of Centre for Social Research.

Addressing the women Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee asked the NDA government to table the Bill and get it passed in Lok Sabha during the winter session. The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha. We would like to say that it should be presented in the Lok Sabha and Congress will support it, she said.

The Left parties have been consistent in their support to the Women's Reservation Bill while all other political parties have changed their stand on it, CPI-M MP MB Rajesh said addressing the gathering. Another CPI-M Lok Sabha MP P.K Sreemathy too extended her party's support to the demand for reservation for women in the Parliament and state Legislative bodies.

Many other speakers on the occasion raised the demand of 50 percent reservation to women from Panchayats to the Parliament. We demand it as a human right not as reservation. We don't want reservation, we want participation in 50 per cent of seats at all the levels of decision making including panchayats, state Legislative bodies and the Parliament, said Kamla Bhasin of Sangat organisation.

PTI