Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik does not genuinely want to promote women in politics and his Government recently passing a resolution for a 33-per cent women reservation in Assembly and Parliament is sheer hypocrisy, alleged BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit.
Addressing a Press conference here on Wednesday, Purohit charged that the move of the Government is to woo the women voters ahead of the elections.
“If at all Patnaik truly desired to implement 33-per cent reservation for women he would at least have a 10-per cent representation of women in his own Cabinet. Of the 20 Ministers in the Patnaik’s Government, there are just two women Ministers, including one holding a Cabinet rank. None of the women Ministers occupies an important portfolio which shows the amount of trust Patnaik reposes in women,” said Purohit.
He further asked, “Has the BJD ever provided 33 per cent women candidates in any Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha elections?”
In 2000 polls, the BJD had 84 candidates in the fray for the Vidhan Sabha of which nine were women. In 2004 elections, the figure came down to four. In 2009 there were eight women candidates and it against went up to 15 in 2014, he said.
Similarly, he told in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, the BJD had no women candidates, though there were two in 2004 and three in 2014. Clearly, Patmaik is not inclined to promote women, he slammed.
Purohit hit out at the BJD Government for creating an environment in the State where women are unsafe.
“Odisha ranks third in violence against women in the country .While crime against women is on the rise in the State, the conviction rate is 6.2 per cent. So most criminals are roaming scot-free. In the year 2017 number of rape cases registered in the State were a whopping 2,212 which the State Government has even conceded as high,” told Purohit.