'Remove all obstacles...implement immediately': Sonia Gandhi on Women's Reservation Bill
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday commenced the debate on the Women's Reservation Bill from the opposition side. Initiating the debate from the opposition's side in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said, "I stand here in support of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam". She said, "Any delay in implementing the women's reservation bill will be a gross injustice to Indian women".
Remembering her late husband and former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia said if the Women's Reservation Bill gets passed then the dream of "Rajiv" will come true. "It is a very touching moment of my life. The first time, the Constitutional Amendment determining women's participation in local bodies was brought by my life partner Rajiv Gandhi," Sonia said.
Sonia Gandhi favoured the Women's Reservation Bill but with a catch. The Congress chairperson said that they are demanding that women's quota bill should be implemented immediately with sub-quota for SCs, STs, OBCs. “We are happy with the passage of this Bill but at the same time, we are concerned too.
Indian women have been waiting for their political responsibility for the past 13 years. And now they are being asked to wait for some more years. How many years? The Congress demands that this Bill be enforced immediately, and along with that, arrangements be made for reservations to women from SC, ST and OBC communities by holding a caste census," Sonia Gandhi said.
Gandhi added, "Immediate implementation of women's reservation bill by removing all obstacles not only necessary but also possible". Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday introduced the Bill in the first sitting of Lok Sabha in the new Parliament building. The Bill was named 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'.
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