Women’s Reservation Bill: Telangana Leader Kavitha Begin Hunger Strike In Delhi

A day ahead of her appearance before the Enforcement Directorate, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha today begins her a-day long hunger strike in Delhi. the hunger strike is kept in demand of passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill providing for the reservation of one-third of the total number of the seats in state assemblies and the Parliament also. The BRS has confirmed that 12 other political parties are joining them in the protest.

Telangana ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy and Satyawathi Rathod are also accompanying Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Kavitha yesterday, in a press conference said that they are observing the hunger strike seeking the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the second part of the Parliament budget session starting on March 13.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, is also the part of the protest, he inaugurated the six-hours long hunger strike protest at Jantar Mantar today. He also demanded that the Central government to bring the bill in this parliament session.

the leaders of the other parties who are also witnessing the hunger strike, Shyam Rajak (RJD), Seema Shukla (SP), NCP spokesperson, Telangana Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy as well as state Women and Child Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod are among them. In addition, there were female leaders from Andhra Pradesh. The AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Chitra Sarwara, the Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral, the PDP’s Anjum Javed Mirza, the NC’s Shami Firdous, the TMC’s Sushmita Dev, the JDU’s KC Tyagi, the NCP’s Seema Malik, the CPI’s Narayana K, the RLD’s Shyam Rajak, and the A (Shiva Sena). Kapil Sibal, a former leader of the Congress, has revealed their involvement in the trike.

While addressing the inaugural session of the hunger strike, Yechury said, “We have come here to assure that our party will extend support to Kavitha in this protest till the bill is passed in Parliament. It is important to bring this bill to give equal opportunity to women in politics.” He also added that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Parliament for the first time in 2014, he said his government’s priority would be the Women’s Reservation Bill. It has been nine years now, this bill has not been introduced again in Parliament, he said. After much efforts, the government gave reservation for women in Panchayats. “If you can give reservation for women in Panchayats, why not in Parliament.”

Yechury also said that country will not grow until the women in the country are not given the equal rights. Further adding to the statement, he said, “only 14 percent of women are there in the Lok Sabha and 11 percent of them make the count in Rajya Sabha. We will ask the Prime Minister to table the bill in this session only.” He also assured that CPI-M will stand with BRS in this move. The second phase of the Parliament session will begin on March 13 and will end on April 6, reportedly.

Enforcement Directorate has summoned the BRS leader K Kavitha in Delhi excise duty case. Meanwhile, yesterday in a press conference she said that she is all set to appear before ED, reiterating that she will fully cooperate with the investigation. She also said that she will be able to appear only on March 11 due to her prior commitments. During the conference she lashed out at ED saying that ‘Dirty politics is being played in the name of interrogation. I have nothing to do with the liquor case.”

Kavitha said that the importance of the Women’s reservation was being acknowledged everywhere, still it is pending in the parliament from last 27 years, after first being introduced in 1996.