Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Modi to initiate steps for passing a Bill to provide one-third reservation to women in the Parliament as well as in the State legislatures.
“Odisha is a pioneering State so far as empowerment of women is concerned. In the early 1990s, the legendary leader Biju Patnaik, for the first time in the country, brought women to the realm of political decision making by reserving one-third of all seats in panchayats and Urban Local Bodies for them. In 2011, Odisha enhanced this reservation to 50 per cent. This decision has empowered the women of and has encouraged them to join the mainstream of the development process. Recently the Odisha Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution to provide one-third reservation to women in the Parliament as well as the State Legislatures,” the CM wrote in a letter to the PM.
He mentioned that empowerment of women is the empowerment of the nation. No household, no society, no state, no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women.
“Recently, the Odisha Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution to provide one-third reservation to women in the Parliament as well as the State Legislatures. Kindly take leadership in passing a bill in this regard in the Parliament. I assure full support of my Government in providing women their rightful place in the decision-making process,” mentioned the Chief Minister.