Minister for early passage of Women's Reservation Bill

Bangalore, Mar 27 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Planning M V Rajasekharan today stressed the need for passing the Women's Reservation Bill at the earliest to empower women in the interest of the country's overall development.

''We should be ashemed that the Bill, which ensures 33 per cent reservation for women, is still pending despite the fact that empowering women leads to overall development of the country...

Unless we empower women, we cannot achieve success,'' he said at a function, organised by the International Integrity Peace and Friendship Society for celebrating Women's Day here.

There was a wrong notion that a proper atmosphere had not yet been created for passing the Bill, he added.

Lauding the ''sacrifice'' made by Congress President Sonia Gandhi by first refusing to accept the Prime Minister's post and recently resigning from Lok Sabha membership and as National Advisory Council Chairperson, Mr Rajasekharan said ''women have played a vital role in building the society not only in the 21st century, but also in earlier days.'' It was proposed to install s statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, who resisted British imperialism, in Parliament hall.

The Minister later presented the annual awards, instituted by the Society.

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