Ahead of her appearance before the Enforcement Directorate to face questioning in the Delhi liquor policy case, BRS leader K Kavitha — the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao — on Friday made a political point rallying several opposition parties, demanding the passage of the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill. The Congress did not attend her day-long hunger strike and so did the Trinamool Congress and JD(U).
Leaders of nine parties attended the Jantar Mantar protest. Sources in the Trinamool Congress said its Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev had confirmed her participation but was caught up in a party programme and hence could not reach. The JD(U) too had confirmed but did not turn up.
Interestingly, the Samajwadi Party and the RJD — which had blocked passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill during the UPA-II period demanding a quota within quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities in the Bill — sent their representatives.
Among those who joined Kavitha to express solidarity were CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, RJD’s Shyam Rajak, CPI’s K Narayana, NCP’s Seema Malik, SP’s Pooja Shukla and Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral. Yechury, in fact, inaugurated Kavitha’s day-long symbolic hunger strike.
Inaugurating the protest, Yechury said the Left parties would stand with the BRS and fight with it till the Women’s Reservation Bill, providing for the reservation of one-third of the total number of seats in state Assemblies and Lok Sabha for women, is passed in Parliament.
“He (PM Modi) has been in power for nine years. The Bill has not even been introduced,” he said, arguing that the representation of women in Parliament is now dismal. In Lok Sabha, only 14 per cent of the MPs are women. In Rajya Sabha, it is 11 per cent, he said. “We ask the government to table the Bill in this session itself,” he said.
Flanked by BRS leaders, including state ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy and Satyavathi Rathod, Kavitha said: “If India needs to develop at par with other countries of the world, then women should be given more representation in politics. Therefore, the Women’s Reservation Bill becomes much more important.” She said the BJP has a full majority in Parliament and hence it has a historic opportunity to pass the Bill.
The Bill vs the will
The Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in 1996 by the Deve Gowda government. The Bill has lapsed and reintroduced many times since. On March 9, 2010, the Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha with 186-1 votes after debate during the UPA II. The Bill, then, reached the Lok Sabha where it never saw the light of day. When the House was dissolved in 2014, it lapsed again.
The show of unity by Opposition parties came a day ahead of her appearance before the ED. The agency had initially summoned Kavitha to record her statement on March 9. However, the BRS leader, while reiterating that she will fully cooperate with the investigation, said she will be able to appear only on March 11 due to prior commitments.
Kavitha has termed the ED’s summons as a “political witch hunt” and “political victimisation”.
Asked about his presence at the protest despite the fact that the RJD had opposed passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the past, Rajak told The Indian Express “we support the Bill but with some amendments”.
“We want earmarking of reservation (quota within quota) for women from Dalit, backward, extremely backward and minority communities in the Bill. You increase the reservation from 33 per cent to 50 per cent… we don’t have any problem but without reservation for these sections… mahila aarakshan ka koi tuk nahin hai… because there is a difference between the financial situation, educational situation and overall environment between them and other women. So, there should be reservation…we will certainly support but these things should be included. I made all these things clear in my speech too,” he said.
Echoed RJD spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta: “We are very much in support of the Bill with the rider that there should be a quota within the quota.” On participation of Shukla, SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said he was unaware whether she was sent by the party or she participated in her personal capacity. The Congress, which did not attend the protest, said the Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010 because of the efforts of its leadership.