Shobha Karandlaje urges all political parties to support Women’s Reservation Bill

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for aggressively advocating for the Women’s Reservation Bill, aimed at reserving 33% of seats in state legislatures and the Parliament for women, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Saturday welcomed the Centre’s decision to convene a special session of the Parliament from April 16 to 18 to deliberate on the legislation.

“Our PM has consistently focussed on the social, educational and economic empowerment of women, and is now pushing for their increased participation in the legislative decision-making process,” Shobha told journalists in Bengaluru.

It was a ‘moment of joy’ for women, said Shobha, pointing out that women had been demanding reservation in legislative bodies for the past few decades. Calling on all political parties to support the bill, she also urged them to identify capable women leaders from various fields, who she said should be sent to Parliament.

Panchayats led by women had performed impressively on markers of governance during her tenure as Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, reminisced Shobha. “It’s not just education, but commitment and sentiment that drive performance,” she said.

Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman, to name a few, had been entrusted the responsibility of key portfolios under BJP-led central governments, said Shobha. Legislative empowerment is but the next step in the journey, said the Union Minister, who pointed to various initiatives such as Mudra loans, self-help groups, ‘Lakhpati Didi’ and ‘Drone Didi’ that had been rolled out with the aim of uplifting women. “Women have a voice and we need to make it a powerful one,” she added.

Responding to Congress’s concerns about the special session being convened during elections, Shobha said, “There are institutions to address concerns about the Model Code of Conduct. Congress is seeing everything through a tinted lens. Mallikarjun Kharge should clarify whether he opposes the bill or has concerns only about the timing.”

Notwithstanding the fact that Indira Gandhi served as the country’s PM, and Sonia Gandhi served as the president of the Congress, the party was shedding crocodile tears over women’s reservation, charged Shobha. “Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the only woman who matters for the Congress, which is not interested in sending other women to Parliament. The Congress should change this mindset,” said Shobha.

President of the BJP’s Karnataka State Mahila Morcha C Manjula said that the party would launch a 10-day-long women’s outreach campaign across the state starting Sunday. “Led by Shobha, we will launch a signature campaign in KR Puram on Sunday. This will be a state-wide campaign aimed at garnering support for the bill,” said Manjula.