KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Sunday slammed the Centre over the Women's Reservation Bill, accusing the BJP of failing to pass the legislation despite assurances in the party's 2014 election manifesto.
O'Brien also posted a video on Twitter of his recent speech in Rajya Sabha over the issue. "Today makes it 25 years since the WOMEN'S RESERVATION BILL was introduced in #Parliament. 25 years. No Bill passed. MO-SHA's BJP even promised it in their 2014 Manifesto. FAIL," the TMC MP tweeted.
The bill aims at 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. O'Brien, in the video of his speech, claimed that there is 25 per cent representation of women in legislatures across the world, while the national average is 13 per cent.
In the BJP, the number of women MPs in Parliament is around 10-11 per cent, he said. The TMC national spokesman said in contrast, close to 40 per cent of his party's MPs in both Houses of Parliament are women.