The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha's ruling party, has announced that it will give 33% seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha and state assembly polls to women.
Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha polls, meaning the party will give tickets to at least seven women candidates out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
“I am delighted to be in Kendrapara today. Here, I have announced 33% reservation for women in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” Patnaik said.
Out of 21 members that the state sends to Lok Sabha, only two are women.
Assembly elections in Odisha are likely to be held with Lok Sabha polls. Currently, the 147-member state assembly has 12 women MLAs.
Last year in November, the Odisha Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution seeking 33% reservation for women in legislative assemblies and Parliament.
Chief Minister Patnaik had said Odisha must show its commitment and resolve to the entire country that it is the land where women are truly empowered and truly involved in nation-building.
“No household, no society, no state, no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women,” he said.
The United Nations had complimented Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his government's proposal. The compliment came from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
It is worth mentioning that the Women's Reservation Bill has been in limbo for the last nine years since being cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have promised passage of the bill if voted to power. On Friday,
The 108th Constitution (Amendment) Bill, which envisages 33% reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, was brought by the then UPA government in 2008 and passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
Its passage was one of the promises made by the ruling BJP in its election manifesto for the 2014 general elections. Apart from the BJP and the Congress, several parties including the Left, NCP, AIADMK and DMK have backed the legislation but a law for women's reservation in these bodies remains as elusive as ever.
Reaching out to the huge constituency of women voters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday promised passage of the bill if his party is voted to power.