Womens Bill for 33 percent will be passed

The NDA government would pass the long-pending legislation providing 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures “once we get majority in Rajya Sabha”, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced here today.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has this in mind and the day is not is far when Parliament will pass the law providing women reservation through consensus. Once we (NDA) get majority in Rajya Sabha, we will get the Bill passed,” Naidu said, addressing the National Women’s Parliament.

“A mere Bill is not sufficient. What is needed is political will and administrative skill. Political parties should show conviction in this regard,” he said.

Noting that gender inequality was having a serious impact on economic development, Venkaiah said focus should be on gender empowerment to end inequalities. “On a scale of 0-1 in gender inequality index, India ranked 0.54. Gender inequality is having a serious impact on economic development and it has become a pressing concern across the world. Hence, there is a global demand for women empowerment,” the Union Minister said.

The three-day National Women’s Parliament, being organised by Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly with the theme of ‘Empowering Women – Strengthening Democracy’, began today in the state capital of Amaravati.

The vision of NWP is to enable and encourage social, political and economic empowerment of women in all strata of the society. One of the objectives of NWP is to generate new ideas, theories and ideologies for women empowerment.
An ‘International Woman Icon of the World’ award and 12 best young achievers awards for women in different fields will be presented at the NWP.

Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and P Ashok Gajapati Raju, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Shirin Chaudhury, Gandhian Ela Bhatt,Telangana MP K Kavitha, actress Manisha Koirala and many other dignitaries attended the inaugural event at Pavitra Sangamam here.