Bengaluru, April 11: In the backdrop of the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill, a Parliament session will be held to discuss the implementation of women’s reservation. In this context, a 10-day awareness campaign will be conducted across Karnataka to educate women about their rights, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje announced.
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Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday at the State BJP office in Bengaluru, she appealed to political parties to accept the Women’s Reservation Bill. She expressed hope that in the future, experts from various fields would be identified and given tickets. She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts in implementing women’s reservation.
Recalling the events from around 15 years ago, she said that when the bill was discussed in Parliament, some political parties had torn up copies of the bill and strongly opposed it.
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Highlighting Karnataka’s achievements, she pointed out that gram panchayats led by women presidents had shown excellent performance and received awards.
Responding to a question, she said that political parties are expected to give priority to existing representatives while allocating Parliament tickets and that the process of identifying candidates should begin now.
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She alleged that Congress is wearing “yellow glasses,” seeing everything through the lens of elections.
Shobha Karandlaje said she does not believe the Women’s Reservation Bill will impact state elections. She also demanded clarity from AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on whether he opposes the bill itself or merely its discussion at this time.
Answering another question, the Union Minister said that during the time when late Indira Gandhi was prime minister and Sonia Gandhi was leading the UPA, discussions on women’s reservation took place, but what was seen was “crocodile tears.” She alleged that at times they opposed it.