Don't Want To Be Put On Pedestals, We Want To Be Equals: Kanimozhi On Women Quota Bill

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said that the women do not want to be saluted and put up on pedestals but just want to be respected as equals.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said that the women do not want to be saluted and put up on pedestals but just want to be respected as equals. ( Image Source :PTI )

Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said on Wednesday that the women do not want to be saluted and put up on pedestals but just want to be respected as equals. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Women Reservation Bill, Kanimozhi said that women do not want to be called sisters, mothers, or wives and just want to be respected as equals.

"Stop saluting us. We do not want to be saluted, put up on pedestals, worshipped, or called mothers, sisters, or wives; we want to be respected as equals. Let us get down from the pedestals and walk as equals. We have a right to this country as much as you do. This country belongs to us, this Parliament belongs to us, and we have the right to be here," Kanimozhi said.

Kanimozhi said, "I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the Govt's reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all stakeholders, political parties and then build a consensus before bringing the Bill. I would like to know what consensus was built. What discussions were held. This Bill was brought shrouded in secrecy. We did not know what this session was called for."

#WATCH | Women's Reservation Bill | DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "I myself have raised this issue of bringing the Reservation Bill many times in Parliament. To many of my starred and unstarred questions, the Govt's reply was very consistent. They said that they have to involve all… pic.twitter.com/8gAJzAbopa

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

The DMK MP also said that Women's Reservation Bill is a poll promise of the BJP and yet many leaders had to urge them to bring this Bill and pass it. "I am happy to be speaking about the Women's Reservation Bill. We thought this Bill will be passed with all of us supporting each other and standing together. But unfortunately, the BJP has taken this also as an opportunity for politicking," she said.

VIDEO | "I am happy to be speaking about the Women's Reservation Bill. We thought this Bill will be passed with all of us supporting each other and standing together. But unfortunately, the BJP has taken this also as an opportunity for politicking," says DMK MP @KanimozhiDMK in… pic.twitter.com/GDHmPFYYUp

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 20, 2023

Sonia Gandhi Supports Women's Reservation Bill But Questions Delay

Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday extended support to the Women's Reservation Bill as she opened the debate from the Congress side in Lok Sabha. She said it was Rajiv Gandhi's dream but questioned the implementation delay. She said, "Immediate implementation of women's reservation bill by removing all obstacles not only necessary but also possible," adding, that "any delay in implementing women's reservation bill will be a gross injustice to Indian women."

Putting forward her party's demand in Lok Sabha, she said, "Congress demands that women's quota bill be implemented immediately with sub-quota for SCs, STs, OBCs." Extending her support to the passage of the bill, she said, "It is a very touching moment of my life. The first time, the Constitutional Amendment determining women's participation in local bodies was brought by my life partner Rajiv Gandhi."