BHUBANESWAR: Following Odisha’s footsteps, Punjab has passed a resolution in its Assembly for 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
In a letter on December 22, which was released to the press on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh informed this to his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik. “I have received your letter of December 6 regarding one-third reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures. I would like to share with you that we have already passed a resolution in the recently held session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha urging the Government of India to provide 33 per cent reservation for women,” Amarinder said.
Naveen had written to his counterparts in all States and Union Territories on December 6 requesting them to support the initiative and pass resolutions in this regard in their legislatures. On November 20, the Odisha Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution during the winter session seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
Meanwhile, BJD Rajya Sabha member Soumya Ranjan Patnaik met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Hyderabad over the issue on Wednesday. In a meeting lasting over one hour, the two leaders discussed several issues including the dispute over Polavaram dam construction. Extending his support to the initiative taken by Odisha Chief Minister on 33 per cent reservation for women, Naidu said other contentious issues including Polavaram can also be resolved through discussion.