Women's Reservation Bill will be passed: Meira Kumar

Varanasi (UP), June 14 (ANI): The contentious Women's Reservation Bill will see the light of day during the 15th Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar told reporters here on Sunday.

"That a woman has been elected as Speaker is an indication that the Women's Bill could be passed in the 15th Lok Sabha," Kumar said.

The Bill, which was first tabled in 1997, seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures.

It has been included in the UPA Government's agenda for its first 100 days.

Parties like the Janata Dal(United), the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, however, remain strongly opposed to the passing of the bill in its present form.

"Now, people have started realizing that nobody in this country will be ignored. It is a big responsibility and I am ready to accept this challenge," the 64-year-old Speaker said.

Kumar also said that she would try not to lose her cool like her predecessor Somnath Chatterjee did when members disrupted proceedings, adding that she would try to take care of all of them.

She hastened to add that she was not commenting on Chatterjee's style of conducting the House proceedings. (ANI)