Women quota bill: Rahul offers ‘unconditional support’ to Modi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to ensure the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament, starting July 18.
Gandhi offered his party’s unconditional support to the bill and said the time has come for a change, and for women to take their rightful place in state legislatures and Parliament.
He urged Modi to ensure that the bill gets passed in this session itself so that women can participate “more meaningfully” in the state elections later this year and in the Lok Sabha polls next year.
“Mr Prime Minister, in many of your...rallies you have spoken about your passion for empowering women and involving them more meaningfully in public life.
“What better way to demonstrate your commitment to the cause of women, than by offering your unconditional support to the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill? And what better time, than the upcoming session of Parliament? Any further delay will make it impossible to implement before the next general elections,” Gandhi wrote to Modi.
He said the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 9, 2010, has been stalled in the Lok Sabha for over eight years now. While the Congress has been unwavering in its commitment to the bill, the BJP appears to have had second thoughts, even though this was one of the party’s key promises in its 2014 manifesto, Gandhi said.
Gandhi tweeted, “Our PM says he’s a crusader for women’s empowerment? Time for him to rise above party politics, walkhis-talk & have the Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Parliament. The Congress offers him its unconditional support.”
“For the skeptics in your party who oppose the passage of this transformational (proposed) legislation, I would appreciate you pointing out to them that our nation’s experience with governance at the Panchayat and Municipal levels, has clearly shown that women in leadership positions are more likely, than their male counterparts, to take decisions that further the cause of an inclusive and just society; which is why this bill has the potential to transform governance in India,” he said.
The Congress president also claimed that his party has collected over 3.2 million signatures of Indian men and women in support of the bill and said that he was submitting the same to him while seeking the prime minister’s support.
NEW DELHI: MIDNAPORE(WESTBENGAL):Around
24 people were injured on Monday when a section of a tent marquee caved in during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at a public rally in West Bengal.
Modi and the leaders of his BJP on the dais escaped unhurt.
Those who attended the rally in West Midnapore district said a part of the tent gave away after some people climbed on the iron rods holding up the canopy. They said the heavy rains also added to the accident.
“Around 22-24 people were injured. They were given first aid at the hospital. Some of them have been admitted. But we have no reports of anyone being critical,” a district police officer said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted to say her government was providing all help with the medical treatment to those injured.
Modi later praised the audience. “Today, I witnessed a new force of the people of Bengal. Can anyone imagine that one-third of the pandal came down and yet the meeting continued peacefully? I shall remember this rally for the rest of my life,” he said.