Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Women politicians from different political parties in the city have reacted to the Central Government decision to introduce Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament along expected lines. BJP politician said, ‘Modi hai to Mumkin hai’ whereas the Congress and the AAP leaders term as nothing but a political stunt aimed to garner votes.
Excerpts:
PM walks the talk
The decision is a matter of pride for every woman of India. It will ensure that the women get the place which they deserve in the law-making bodies. It is also a happy coincidence that the Women’s Reservation Bill has become the first bill to be presented in the new building of Parliament. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks the talk. He had said that it is the women who lead the development of the nation. And by enacting this law, he would be giving the women an opportunity to contribute to the development of the nation and to the welfare of women and children. I hope that the bill will become a law soon.
Bhakti Sharma, Former Sarpanch, Barkhedi , Bhopal
Poll tactic
This is nothing except an election stunt. If Modi Ji and the BJP were so concerned about women, why did they not clear this bill during their first term or even in the initial years of their second term. Why are they doing this at the far end of their term. In any case, this idea was mooted by Rajiv Gandhi and it was the UPA Government led by Dr Manmohan Singh that got it passed from the Rajya Sabha. The BJP government is doing this only for votes. The fact that the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan could not find a woman minister to hold the Women and Child Development portfolio and is holding it himself shows how serious the BJP leaders are about empowering women.
- Vibha Patel, Congress Leader
Ground situation will not change
The bill, even if passed, would not change the situation on ground. The talk of the BJP of empowering women is hollow. We saw what kind of problems international women players had to face in just getting an FIR registered against BJP MP Brijkishore Singh, who is a habitual molester. Look at the BJP-ruled MP, which is topper in rapes, crimes against women. The BJP gives tickets to rapists and molesters and then talks of women empowerment. What is this hype around Ladli Behna Yojana? What are you trying to prove by giving petty amounts to women?
- Preeti Khare, District president of Women Wing, AAP, Bhopal
Brings positive changes in society
The Women's Reservation Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha is a welcome step. This bill is a move forward towards our constitutional mandate of equality and Justice. The bill defines the leadership of women in our country. It reminds me of the saying of Malcolm X that 'If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family, a nation'.
Similarly, sufficient representation of women in politics will change the faith of many. The opportunity provided by this bill brings positive changes in the society that leads to changing the face of the nation.
Professor Mona Purohit, Dean, Faculty of Law, BU
