UPA lacks political will for women's reservation: Heptullah

Gwalior, Sep 26 (UNI) Former Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairperson and MP Najma Heptullah today said the Centre lacked the political will to bring Women's Reservation Bill as it feared that nearly 200 male parliamentarians would be rendered unemployed.

Ms Heptullah, who arrived here to take part in Garba Mahotsav programme organized by the Mahila Sanskritik Utsav Samiti, told reporters here that BJP leader Sushma Swaraj had raised the issue of women's reservation for the first time in Parliament in 1986.

She said the Union Home Minister was talking about increasing the number of seats in Parliament but this would not resolve the issue, as women would get only 7.5-8 per cent reservation in that case.

Ms Heptullah said representation of women parliamentarians in weaker democracies was more than in a strong democracy like India.

On minority appeasement, she said there was difference in the UPA's ''kathni aur karni (words and deeds)''.

Admitting that Musilm community was economically backward with large number of unemployed youths, Ms Heptullah said the present government's approach was limited to vote bank politics.

UNI XC-PS PDM RK2140