Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter, K Kavitha, stated on Friday that the Women's Reservation Bill has been pending for the past 27 years, and numerous women's organizations have attempted to work on it. Kavitha began a one-day hunger strike on Friday at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, requesting the passage of the long-awaited Women's Reservation Bill during the second part of the budget session of Parliament, which commences on March 13.
According to an IANS report, Kavitha addressed a gathering at a protest site in Delhi and said, "In 1996, Deve Gowda introduced it after agitation by women. My salute to the leaders of that time, Brinda Karat, Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, and others who ran a movement to make it possible."
"A full majority government is in power. We demand that the BJP government introduce the bill. We will bring all the parties together and will try supporting you in Parliament," Kavitha said, as quoted by IANS.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury joined Kavitha in the protest. Among other leaders present at the protest site were Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh and Chitra Sarwara, a Shiv Sena delegation, Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral, PDP's Anjum Javed Mirza, NC's Dr Shami Firdous, TMC leader Sushmita Dev, and JDU's KC Tyagi.
NCP leader Dr Seema Malik, CPI's Narayana K, Samajwadi party's Pooja Shukla, RJD's Shyam Rajak, and MP Kapil Sibal were also present at Kavitha's hunger strike.
The Women's Reservation Bill mandates that one-third of the seats in the national and state legislatures be reserved for women.
Meanwhile, Congress claimed credit for passing the women's reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha and stated that the bill has not lapsed.
"The landmark Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on 9th March 2010, entirely due to the efforts of the Congress leadership. But it could not find support in Lok Sabha. The Bill has not lapsed. It is alive and pending. What has stopped it from being revived?" Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was quoted by IANS in its report.
IN PICS | Women's Reservation Bill: BRS Leader K Kavitha Leads 1-Day Hunger Strike In Delhi