Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s move for a 33-per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures has received the support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
NCP president Sharad Pawar has written a letter to Patnaik assuring that his party will support a resolution regarding the reservation when it comes up in Parliament. Pawar also congratulated Patnaik for the initiative.
Patnaik has asked his Ministers and BJD MLAs and MPs to meet the leaders of seven national parties and 15 regional parties in this connection.
Patnaik had on December 4 written to Prime Minister Modi to initiate a move to ensure a one-third reservation for women. He had also on December 6 written to the Chief Ministers of all States seeking their cooperation to ensure women reservation.
Notably, the Women’s Reservation Bill, which proposed to amend the Constitution to reserve 33 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women, was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
