Manmohan Singh says women's reservation bill will be introduced in this session

New Delhi, March 8 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday assured a delegation of women that women's reservation bill will be introduced during the current budget session of the parliament.

The delegation also met Vice President Hamid Ansari to give him a charter of demands on the occasion of International Women's Day.

"The signs are very good. The PM said that the reservation bill will be introduced this session," Akhila Shivadas, head of Centre for Advocacy and Research, told reporters.

"None of the political parties can take women for granted at the elections," she said.

Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Krishna Tirath, who is also chairperson of the Women's Empowerment Committee, said that 33 percent representation in the centre and state legislatures 'was a prerequisite for the empowerment of all sections of women'.

A bill to reserve 33 percent of parliamentary seats for women was introduced a decade ago, but it has not been passed.

ANI