BJD seeks passage of Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament

New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday demanded for the passage of Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.

BJD MP Sasmit Patra raised the demand for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

During the Zero Hour, Patra reiterated the demand raised by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over several years for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament.

Speaking in his mother tongue Odia, Patra stated that women’s empowerment is extremely important in India and especially in the context of economic, social and political empowerment.

Patra spoke how CM and BJD President Naveen Patnaik had reserved 33% seats for women in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections for his party and how Patnaik and Biju Janata Dal have been strongly demanding for the Women’s Reservation Bills passage.

Patra further said that only if political empowerment through the Women’s Reservation Bill is ensured that true women’s empowerment would be achieved.

On the issue of social and economic empowerment, Dr. Sasmit Patra stated that the Union Government should study the model of Mission Shakti programme of Odisha which has empowered more than 80 lakh women through Women Self Help Groups and how these women have revolutionized their lives and livelihood through the Mission Shakti Programme.

Patra proposed that just as the Centre had brought about the National Maternity Scheme after considering Odisha’s MAMATA Yojana as a benchmark model, similarly the Centre should now consider bringing about a National Programme on the lines of Odisha’s Mission Shakti which would lead to social and economic empowerment of women.

These two proposals Dr. Patra hoped would lead to the true political, social and economic empowerment of women in India.