Naveen pushed for women' reservation bill, says BJD

BHUBANESWAR: BJD leaders welcomed the Centre’s decision to table the bill for reserving one-third of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures across the country.

They said the bill’s passage was their party’s long-standing demand and CM Naveen Patnaik had personally reached out to PM Modi as well as other CMs, seeking their support on this crucial legislation in 2018.

BJD has five women among its 12 Lok Sabha members. Senior BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said Odisha is a model state for women’s quota as former CM Biju Patnaik had first introduced reservation in panchayat and urban local body elections in 1991. Thereafter, the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were brought to ensure reservation for women in local body elections in all states.