Congress adopting double standard on Women Bill-Maheswari

Bhubaneswar, June 11 (UNI) BJP Mahila Morcha President Kiran Maheswari today accused the Congress of playing a double standard game on the Women Reservation Bill.

Addressing newsmen here, Ms Maheswari said it was most unfortunate that Sonia Gandhi being the chairperson of the UPA, the centre has not even moved a draft on the Women Reservation Bill during its three year tenure.

This amply reflected that the Congress was not in favour of passing the Women Reservation Bill in parliament, the BJP Mahila Morcha President said.

She said when the bill was moved during the NDA regime, the Congress for the sake of Opposition opposed the bill, but the party has been maintaining that it was trying to sort out the differences within the NDA and its alliance partners on the passage of the bill in Parliament.

Ms Maheswari said the BJP had already submitted the proposal that it was in favour of an increase of even 33 per cent seats in Parliament to enforce the Women Reservation Bill and 33 per cent reservation of women candidates for all political parties in election.

She further said though the Common Minimum Programmes of the UPA had accorded top priority for Women Reservation Bill, the intra- fighting within the Congress has emerged as a major stumbling block for the passage of the Women Reservation Bill.

UNI