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SDPI to hold ‘Ladies Parliament March’ against WRB
Alleppey (Kerala): The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), will hold "Ladies Parliament March" and stage "dharna" (sit-in) against the Women Reservation Bill in the present form on May 13 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
Addressing a Press conference E. Abubacker, SDPI national president, after the party's two-day National Working Committee, (NWC), meeting which concluded here on Sunday, said women leaders associated with the party and delegates of Muslims and other minorities, OBCs, Dalits, STs and other communities from various parts of the country would stage the protest demonstration.
The NWC meeting was presided over by Abubacker. Advocate Sajid Siddiqui, vice president of the party, welcomed the NWC members while A. Sayeed, general secretary, presented the secretary’s report.
Abubacker said that after the conclusion of the "dharna" a delegation of the participants will meet the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Singh Patil and present her a memorandum demanding her not to give assent to the Bill in its present form unless a provision is made in it for sub-quota for women of all weaker sections of the country as demanded by these communities from the very beginning.
This protest demonstration is a prelude to the national-level campaign of the party on the issue which would be held in the coming September, he added.
Replying to questions Abubacker said the present form of the Bill is a hidden agenda for reducing strength of SCs, STs, OBSs and minorities in the legislature. The prevalent quota of SCs and STs will come down by one third in case the Bill is passed by Lok Sabha in the present form, he pointed out.
This hidden agenda of the political parties of high castes which are supporting the Bill shall be exposed, he asserted.
Moreover, he said, the highly inadequate representation of Muslims in the Indian Parliament will further have a setback. A number of drawbacks have already been raised by several political parties and communities leaders for amendment in the Bill for making it reasonably democratic in nature, he informed.
Abubacker said that it is strange that the parties who are championing the cause for women reservation in legislature fail to give 33 per cent representation to women in their own rank and file and it is rightly concluded that they are not serious about the women reservation and just raised a populist issue for taking women as a large vote bank.
Meanwhile, he informed that apart from taking stock of the party's activities a number of other resolutions were passed in the NWC meeting. One of the resolution adopted was about the unethical reserving of constituencies and wards for SC/STs and women in Muslim dominated areas to undermine the democratic rights of the Muslim community. The resolution deplored this move vehemently and the SDPI resolved to fight tooth and nail the conspiracy of earmarking constituencies and wards as reserved for SCs, STs and women in Muslim concentrated localities. The SDPI has resolved to fight it out legally and build up public pressure on the powers that be to undo the wrong done to the Muslim community.
Abubacker said a package of programme has been chalked out for the expansion and strengthening the base of SDPI in northern states of India.
Hafiz Manzoor Ali Khan, who is the president of Rajasthan unit of SDPI, was elected as secretary of the party in the meeting, he informed.
He said that after reviewing the working of various state units of the party, the NWC decided to launch membership campaign in various states.
Meanwhile, other resolutions passed in the NWC meeting included (i) Implementation of Justice (retd.) Ranganath Mishra Commission’s recommendations; (ii) Expressing anguish and concern on atrocities being committed against Dalits in Gujarat; (iii) Condemning the meeting of Buddhadev Bhattacharya, the Chief Minister of Left government in West Bengal, with the Ambassador of Israel and (iv) Appeal to include all Indians in the ongoing Census without any discrimination.
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