BJP to seek amendment on President's address

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) The BJP will seek to move an amendment to the President's Address in Rajya Sabha to highlight the neglect and absence of focus on the issue of reservation for women, party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said here today.

Talking to newspersons ahead of the passage of Motion of Thanks for President's Address, Ms Swaraj said India stood at 108th place among the 189 nations of the world in the scale prescribed by International Parliamentary Union on women's reservation.

She said the BJP was raising the issue on the occasion of International Women's Day. India may be the biggest democracy of the world but it has allowed only 10 per cent women's representation whereas Pakistan, a military dictatorship, was placed in 48th place.

Ms Swaraj said the BJP appreciated the gesture of Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to allow all the women members to ask their questions, cutting short the time for their male counterparts during question hour.

The BJP MP said, after listening to the Prime Minister's reply to the debate in Lok Sabha, he had chosen to remain silent on crucial issues raised and the party expected some clarity on all the contradictions prevailing in the government on a host of issues.

UNI