BJP must make stand on Women's Reservation Bill clear, should table it in LS in upcoming session: Cong

The Congress on Friday asked the BJP to make its stand clear on the Women's Reservation Bill and demanded that it be tabled in Lok Sabha in the upcoming second part of the Budget Session of Parliament.

The Congress' assertion came on a day BRS leader K Kavitha was observing a hunger strike seeking passage of the long-pending bill in the second part of the Budget session starting March 13.

In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The landmark Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on 9th March 2010, ENTIRELY due to the efforts of the Congress leadership."

"But it could not find support in Lok Sabha. The Bill has not lapsed. It is alive and pending. What has stopped it from being revived?" he said.

Asked about the bill at a press conference here, Congress leader Alka Lamba said when the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha, the Congress did not have a majority in the Lok Sabha and it was a coalition government.

"We were successful in getting the Women's Reservation Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha. It is alive and the BJP government has a majority in the Lok Sabha, they had promised 33 per cent reservation to women in their 2019 manifesto and even before that, but are still quiet on it even after nine years in government," she said.

"We demand that the Parliament session is starting, the BJP government must make its stand clear and table the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha and ensure the rights of the women," he said.

The second leg of the Budget session will end on April 6.