I have reservations about reservation: NCW chief

NEW DELHI: National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma on Friday said she has “reservations” about the reservation system, arguing that women should make their own way in politics as quotas would only help the daughters and wives of some politicians.

Her remarks come at a time opposition parties are urging the government to ensure that the women's reservation bill, which calls for reserving 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women, is passed in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

“If you ask me, I have reservations about reservation, actually. It will be difficult for people like me and you to enter politics with the help of reservation. We have to pave our own path... (It will help only) daughters or wife of some politicians,” she said at a discussion on “Political participation and representation of women in India' organised by the NCW.

Sharma also stressed on the need to empower women, “the other 50 per cent of the population”.

“How can we grow if 50 per cent of the population is not empowered politically? It is not possible at all. It is the right of women to elect and get elected,” she said.

The women panel chief rued that “women still discuss with their husband before exercising their franchise”.

“They are generally oblivious to the candidates contesting the elections. They do not know on what basis a person should be elected. If we do not how to elect the right person, who will we ensure that we get our rights?” she asked.

According to Sharma, many women who have been elected at the panchayat level “have no clue about their work”.

“They do not know how much money the government gives to a panchayat and what it is meant for. In many cases, their husbands, brothers or fathers put stamps on papers and attend meetings on their behalf,” Sharma said.

The NCW chief appealed to women to keep their family concerns aside if they want to make a foray into politics.

She also stressed the need to change the mindset that husbands are not supposed to help women in their daily work.

“Power is needed to bring about a change” and it comes from politics, Sharma said.

“I understood this point when I was very young. To bring a significant, important change, you need power and it comes from politics. If you want to make new laws, you have to enter Parliament,” she said.

The NCW chief said many educated people, especially the younger generation, are averse to joining politics, but “you have to get you hands dirty if you want to clean the sewer”.

Sharma urged the women to “go beyond writing about social issues on Facebook” and become part of the system. GANDHINAGAR: BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Friday said there was a need to ponder over what should be the role of voters once elections were over, while pointing out that the provision of “Right to Recall” the elected representatives was prevalent in over 60 countries.

Maintaining that he was neither in favour nor against the introduction of the “Right to Recall” system, which empowered the voters to remove mid-way a lawmaker who had failed to deliver, in India, Gandhi, however, said the big question was should the people remain just spectators (after an election) or bring in change.

Addressing a gathering of students at the Karnavati University here, the MP from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh rued that his appeal to the rich MPS and MLAS to forgo their salaries had not elicited any positive response.

He said an MP or MLA faced disqualification if found guilty of involvement in serious crimes, but nothing much happened to those who were accused of criminal offences but not convicted by courts.

“If you have an MP or MLA who is convicted of serious crimes, he will be disqualified. What if they are accused of crimes like land-grabbing, arson or rioting...” he said. NEW DELHI: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of “cruelly neglecting” the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act, saying the two legislations were brought by the previous UPA government to put an end to hunger deaths like that of the three minor girls in Delhi.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a social security employment generation legislation which guarantees employment to the poor ensuring livelihood security and the National Food Security Act aims to provide subsidised food grains to the poor. “MGNREGA was intended to put an end to hunger. FOOD SECURITY ACT was intended to put an end to starvation. Both have been cruelly neglected by the BJP government,” Chidambaram tweeted. The former finance and home minister said as long as there were children who tragically starved to death, “we have to hang our heads in shame and grief ”.

Three minor girls died allegedly due to starvation in east Delhi on Tuesday leading to a huge uproar.