RLM march held over women quota row

Patna: The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) on Wednesday took out a ‘Dhikkar march’ in Patna and other district headquarters against the opposition parties for stalling the 131st Constitution amendment bill which was brought to give women 33% reservation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies with an increased number of seats after delimitation of constituencies.However, in most places, including Patna, Lakshisarai, Samastipur, Khagaria and Nalanda, there were more men than women in the RLM protest march.In Patna, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash led the march organised from the MLA flats to Dak Bungalow crossing. The former minister said while provisions for women’s reservation were being formulated, women have neither received the reservation nor has the necessary delimitation exercise taken place. “As a result, there has been no increase in the number of constituencies. Women’s rights are being violated. It is precisely for this reason that we have set out to expose the true face of the opposition,” Deepak said.RLM state president and Dinara MLA Alok Kumar Singh led the march in Sasaram. He said a monumental initiative was underway for the women of the country, but the opposition parties deprived women of their rightful entitlements. Singh said the opposition parties committed a grave error by voting against the Constitution amendment.RLM women’s wing state president Smriti Kumud, MLA Rameshwar Mahto, RLM state working president Subhash Chandravanshi, state president of the minority wing, Zulfiqar Aftab, among others joined the march in Patna, said state spokesperson Rajneesh Kumar.