‘Choosing 3 women candidates shows Mamata Banerjee cares about women empowerment’
After filing her nomination for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sushmita Dev, besides praising her party chairperson Mamata Banerjee for choosing three women candidates, also claimed that by giving her the opportunity Banerjee has proven her concern for North East. On Tuesday, Sushmita Dev along with Nadimul Haque filed their nominations. The other candidates chosen by the party are Mamata Bala Thakur and Sagarika Ghose.
Later, addressing the press, Dev said: “The fact that Mamata Banerjee has chosen three women candidates shows how much she cares about women empowerment. She does not restrict her beliefs to rhetoric but ensures they are applied in real life.”
She added: “There is also a political message in this decision. TMC is one party who has more than 40 per cent women. In India, 50 per cent of the population are women. The BJP government at the Centre had introduced the Women Reservation Bill but no woman can say with conviction as to when it will be implemented or if at all. Mamata proved without affirmative action, without a Bill. Showed how women can be empowered and be made to represent the party in the Parliament.”
Further, Dev, who belongs from Tripura, said: “Probably it is the first time in the history of politics that someone from North East is getting Rajya Sabha membership twice. The message is clear that it shows how much Mamata Banerjee loves the North East.”
Sagarika Ghose, a journalist and author, also praised Mamata Banerjee for choosing three women candidates.
Nadimul Haque said he is grateful to his party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for giving him this opportunity for the third time. He said his responsibility towards the people have further increased and hopes he will be able to meet their expectations.
It was learnt that Rajya Sabha is all set for elections to its 56 seats on 27 February. The elections will be conducted for seats across 15 states of India including five from Bengal.
Presently, the BJP holds the highest number of seats in Rajya Sabha which is 93, followed by the Congress party with 30 seats. The Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam each hold 13, 10, and 10 seats respectively, among others.