New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K Kavitha has held a hunger strike today at Jantar Mantar to raise voice against the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill. The bill seeks to reserve 33 per cent of seats in Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women. The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in Mau 2008 and was referred to a standing committee.
The hunger strike has been organised by her NGO Bharat Jagriti, Kavitha, and all political parties were invited. “BJP can continue to use and deploy its entire machinery, but we are committed to fight for what is right. Women’s Reservation Bill is the need of the hour, for a better and more inclusive India. Tomorrow I’ll be sitting on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding tabling of the Bill”, tweeted K Kavitha.
Sources reveal that Congress is not sending any representative to the protest. Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “The landmark Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on 9 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?”
Addressing the gathering at Jantar Mantar Kavitha said that if India needs to develop at the speed the world is developing, women should play a key role in politics. Women should get more representation in politics. “Many political parties have tried to bring the bill that is pending from past 27 years. Leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Sonia Gandhi, and Brinda Karat had led struggles to make it possible”, she further added.