Women Reservation Bill: MLC Kavitha to launch campaign in Dec; to invite Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka

Hyderabad: MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Wednesday announced to launch a campaign in December to demand the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the parliament.

She said that she would invite all women leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Smriti Irani to participate in the campaign.

Reiterating her demand for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, she said it is not her personal agenda but the wish of all women in the country. She said even Dr. BR Ambedkar fought for women's reservations.

Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, said the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but has not been taken up in the Lok Sabha. She accused the BJP government of deliberately stalling the bill.

MLC Kavitha said that women currently make up only 12% of the members of Parliament. She pointed out that this is only a slight improvement from the 8% of women MPs in the first Lok Sabha. She also noted that only two women have been elected as MLAs in Manipur.

"Should women remain only as Sarpanchs, MPTCs, and ZPTCs?" she asked

"The BJP promised twice in their manifesto to introduce a bill for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, but no steps have been taken so far. This is a betrayal of the trust of women," said MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha.

She said DK Aruna, the BJP's national vice president, is not brave enough to question the party on this issue. “Kishan Reddy, the Union minister and BJP Chief is also not vocal enough about it. Revanth Reddy, the Chief of Telangana Congress does not feel like asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the bill. Priyanka Gandhi, the general secretary of the Congress, is focusing on Uttar Pradesh, which they will anyway lose," she added.

Lashing out at Congress, she said Revanth Reddy believes in the heart of hearts that his party is never going to come back to power. "So they're trying to instigate people to impossible promises. Promises they've already tried in the last election as well,” she said

Kavitha also spoke about the issue of EVM tampering. She said that a professor had alleged that EVMs were tampered with in the recent elections, and she called on the Election Commission to take this allegation seriously.

MLC Kavitha said that there is a need for moderation in politics. She condemned the words spoken by Mynampally Hanmantha Rao, saying that they were not correct and did not reflect the views of the party. She said that the party will think about the matter and take appropriate action.

Kavitha also warned the BRS leaders that action would be taken against whoever works against the party. She said that anyone in public life should speak politely.