Brinda Karat flays Centre on cola issue

Hyderabad, Sep 15: All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) Vice President and MP Brinda Karat today alleged the Centre had failed to bring norms for cola products which contained pesticide residues above permissible levels according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report.

Participating in a 'Meet the press' programme organised by the Hyderabad Union of Journalists (HUJ) here, Ms Karat claimed that the government had not taken any steps to stop the sale of soft drinks containing hazardous elements.

It utterly failed to bring standards for cola products and the issue had been spreading panic among the consumers for the last two years, she charged.

Demanding the introduction of Women's Reservation Bill in the coming session of Parliament she said women constituted barely ten per cent of MPs while the numbers were 27 per cent in legislative bodies in Afghanistan and 22.7 per cent in Pakistan.

Alleging that the Centre also failed to implement the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on tribal lands, Ms Karat demanded the introduction of a Bill on the issue in the ensuing session.

On economic issues, Ms Karat said the country's growth was being measured only by sensex and profit margins and said India required policies to ensure social justice to deprived sections of the society.

Stating Self-Help Groups (SHGs) were treated as Government Help Groups (GHGs), Ms Karat pointed out that institutional credit to the SHGs had not been increased.

UNI