Naidu urges all political parties to support Women’s Reservation Bill

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday wrote to leaders of all major political parties and MPs from the state, urging them to extend unanimous support in parliament to the Women's Reservation Bill, also called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which seeks to provide 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies starting from the 2029 general elections.In his letter, Naidu described April 16, 2026, when the Bill is scheduled to be introduced, as a landmark moment in India's democratic journey. He said the proposed constitutional amendment would fulfil a decades-old demand and mark a decisive step towards equality and women's empowerment.The CM wrote to Jana Sena Party president K Pawan Kalyan, BJP state president PVN Madhav, YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, APCC president YS Sharmila Reddy, CPI state secretary G Eswaraiah and CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao. The letter was also sent to Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh.Emphasising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "commitment to reserving one-third of seats in parliament and state assemblies for women", Naidu appealed to all political parties to rise above partisan considerations and strengthen the initiative through collective support.Naidu said true progress is possible only with greater participation of women in governance, administration and lawmaking. He noted that women were already playing a decisive role across sectors such as education, healthcare, technology, research, industry, defence, sports and services, and deserve proportional representation in legislative bodies.Recalling that the Bill received broad support across party lines when introduced earlier, he said there was a strong national consensus on implementing the reform without further delay. Naidu said the commitment to roll out reservations from the 2029 Lok Sabha and assembly elections reflected the centre's intent to translate intent into action.Calling the legislation a matter of national pride, Naidu urged all MPs and parties to be part of the historic step towards empowering women and strengthening Indian democracy. Naidu also called for a meeting of NDA partners on Wednesday to discuss the Bill and coordination between the alliance partners. TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh asked the women legislators from the state to reach Delhi by April 16 in support of the Union govt and also to witness the historic parliament session.