Jaya wants women's quota bill passed this session

Jaya wants women's quota bill passed this session
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

CHENNAI, DEC 3: The Bill to accord 33 per cent reservation to women in the Parliament and state Assemblies should be passed in the current session of Parliament as all political parties had already approved it, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha has said.

In a statement on Thursday, she wondered why Prime Minister A B Vajpayee was hesitant though the NDA constituents, Congress and others offered their full support to the Bill. It was not clear why the Women's Reservation Bill was not on the priority list.

She had asked the Vajpayee Government in 1998 not to succumb to the pressure of those trying to scuttle the Bill. A handful of members created a furore when the Bill was to be introduced in Parliament by the then Union law minister M Thambidurai after consensus at an all-party meeting. The Speaker adjourned the House instead of ordering their eviction, she said.