AIPWA protests women's quota Bill delay

PATNA: Hundreds of women under the banner of the state unit of the All India Progressive Women''s Association (AIPWA) demonstrated here on Friday for the passage of the women''s reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament.
Led by state unit president Saroj Chaube, secretary Shashi Yadav and vice-president Bharti S Kumar, the AIPWA activists shouted slogans like "aam sahmati ka natak band karo", "mahila arakshan vidheyak parit karo" and "sansad mein purushwadi sanshray ko dhwast karo".
Holding the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government responsible for not getting the Bill passed, they also raised slogan, "BJP murdabad".
Later on a delegation led by Chaube met governor M Rama Jois and gave him a memorandum addressed to the President.
The procession, which was stopped at the Hartali Chowk, turned into a public meeting, which was addressed among others by Bihar Mahila Samaj secretary Ratna Sinha and Sunaina Devi.
They said that on the one hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party has brought the Bill keeping in view the coming elections, while on the other it wanted to escape on the plea that no consensus could be reached inside the Parliament.
The Parliament, which had earlier passed anti-people Act like Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) and other finance bills at a joint session of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite a boycott by the opposition members, is not allowing women members even to speak.
"The manner in which the women''s reservation Bill has been tabled 8 times and the treatment meted out to it, goes to show that the House is dominated by men", said Chaube.
They said that no formulae of the Election Commission of India is acceptable to them and it is the duty of the RJD government of Bihar to get the women''s Bill passed by Parliament.
Chaube said that marches were organised in other states and before Parliament on Friday to press for the passage of the Bill.