Reminding the ruling BJP of its ‘Vision Document’ released during 2014 Elections as also the election time speeches of its senior leaders, Mrs. Manju Singh, General Secretary-JKNPP sought reservation of 33% seats for women in J&K Assembly. Urging upon the Centre to take appropriate measure in this regard, Mrs. Singh said that various political parties had though given the slogans of women empowerment but none had dared to take necessary steps in this regard for reasons best known. She was addressing the new entrants who joined Panthers Party in Jammu today.
Mrs. Manju Singh said that assurances for early delimitation and for ending regional bias were not only doled out by the central BJP leadership but the BJP’s manifesto released during Elections also categorically promised early delimitation of Assembly constituencies in J&K so as to ensure justice to Jammu region with 33 % seats reserved for women, five seats for displaced persons of PoJK out of 24 seats reserved for them in the state constitution and three seats for Kashmir migrants.
Lambasting the lackadaisical approach of the govt. towards the main demand of Jammu region and of women folk, Mrs. Singh said that delimitation of constituencies which formed a part of the erstwhile coalition govt’s Agenda of Alliance also was most despicably ignored and delayed in the saffron rule creating huge resentment amongst the Jammu people. She said that delimitation process involving delimitation of constituencies, re-adjustment of territorial boundaries, rotation of reserved seats, identification of seats for fresh reservation, reservation of seats for women etc. needed be completed in a time bound manner so that early restoration of democracy was ensured in J&K. She sought the immediate attention of the BJP government and the Prime Minister so as to pave for early delimitation with reservation of 33% seats for women.
Mrs. Anita Choudhary State Secretary Mahila Panthers said that PM Modi’s slogans of women empowerment could fructify and become meaningful only if the women were given their due share in democratic institutions. She said that while women had been granted such reservation in Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats, it was highly unjust to deprive them of the said facility in Assembly. Describing the BJP leaders as hypocrites, she warned of a full scale Mahila Andolan in case the election promises made by the central and state leaders of Saffron Party were not fulfilled.
Prominent among those who joined JKNPP included Sonika Choudhary, Seema Rajput, Jogita Sharma, Sunita Devi, Priya Devi, Anita Devi, Sanjana Devi, Jyoti Devi, Ranvir Khour, Sushma Devi, Manju Choudhary besides others.