BHOPAL, SEPTEMBER 22:BJP has stolen a march over other political parties as far as women’s empowerment is concerned.

The party’s national executive on Saturday accepted the proposal to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women at all levels within the organisation. “It’s a historic day for women workers of BJP,” Sushma Swaraj announced on the second day of the national executive. Already, BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, where the party shares power with JD-U, have increased reservation for women in local panchayat bodies to 50 per cent.

After the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, 33 per cent seats were reserved for women in local bodies. When MP followed Bihar to increase that to 50 per cent, they became the only states to do so.

The party said its record on women’s empowerment has always been better than others, especially the Left which often accuses the BJP of having an anti-woman mindset. “CPI(M) did not have a single woman member in the Politburo till a year ago,” the party said, taking a dig at the Left. None of the three states that elect Left parties has seen a single woman Chief Minister.

“We submitted the Women’s Reservation Bill twice in Parliament and even tried to build a consensus in the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha but the UPA has not submitted any Bill since it came to power three years ago,” Swaraj said, adding that her party would always extend support for reserving 33 per cent seats in Assemblies and Parliament.

“In the NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee nine out of 11 women ministers belonged to the BJP. While the present UPA Government has 10 women ministers, only six of them belong to the Congress,” Swaraj said.

Swaraj said the BJP always had one woman in its parliamentary board, first Vijayaraje Scindia and later herself. Swaraj headed the seven-member committee of BJP that submitted the latest report, which proposed 33 per cent reservation within the party.

The party said it would implement the new reservation policy within three months of the national council ratifying it.

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