Priyanka demands immediate implementation of women’s reservation bill
Women's Reservation Bill has finally been passed due to "our relentless persistence and efforts; of all of us, not just the Congress," says Sonia Gandhi
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has demanded the immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill, allowing quota for women in legislative bodies, saying women have "no more time to waste." She was speaking at the Women's Rights Conference organised by the DMK in Chennai on Saturday (October 14).
"Today, there was much talk of empowerment as every political party begins to realise that women can become a formidable collective force that shapes our nation's future," she said.
"But they still look towards us with greed; greed for votes...On your behalf, my sisters, I demand more...on your behalf I demand immediate implementation of the women's reservation bill. We, the women of India have no more time to waste. It is our right to be counted in the political process," Priyanka asserted.
Women's work should be valued and respected.
She demanded "rejection of any system—societal, religious or political—which thrives on our oppression and forces us to collude with it." The Parliament had last month passed the Women's reservation bill, reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.
INDIA alliance to fight for implementation
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi asserted the INDIA alliance would fight for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill passed recently by the Parliament.
Addressing the conference, she said the late Rajiv Gandhi brought the historic 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati raj, the local self-governments which spurred an entirely new phenomenon of women leadership at the grassroots level.
It was a vital stepping stone towards the reservation on a similar one thirds of seats in the legislative bodies which the Congress pioneered in Parliament and outside.
Now the Women's Reservation Bill has finally been passed due to "our relentless persistence and efforts; of all of us, not just the Congress." However, "as we all know it is still a long way to come." She recalled the interventions made in the Parliament by opposition MPs on the actual implementation of the Bill, whether it would be in one year, two or three years.
"We have no idea," she said and added though some men are happy, "we are not, we women are not." She asserted "we are going to fight," for the implementation of Women's Reservation Act.
The Women's Reservation Bill introduced by the UPA-II was passed by the Rajya Sabha but a lack of consesus prevented it from being passed in the Lok Sabha.