YSRCP appeals centre for a law on fifty per cent reservation for women in politics

YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy appealed to the government in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to bring in a law providing 50 per cent reservation for women in the legislature and nominated posts. He addressed the house on the subject by special mention. "In the 1962 Lok Sabha elections, 46.7 per cent women voters participated, while by the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it had increased to 67.18 per cent. In line with this, the representation of women in politics and in the legislature has not increased," Vijayasai said. He also mentioned that according to data gathered by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, India has the lowest representation of women in national parliaments worldwide.

India, which was ranked 95th in 1998, has slipped to 148th by 2021. He described the recent elections for municipalities and municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh as a step towards women's representation, with 60 per cent women winning the posts of mayor and chairperson. Out of a total of 86 top posts, 52 were held by women itself. This is a record in the history of Andhra Pradesh.

Vijayasai Reddy said that this was a strong demonstration of the sincerity of the YSR Congress Party in the direction of women's empowerment and in providing opportunities to women on par with men. "Out of 1 lakh 50 thousand panchayats in Andhra Pradesh, more than 50 per cent or 78 thousand posts are held by women; this makes it clear how much reservation is needed for a large number of women to participate in the democratic process. So there is a need to bring in legislation to reserve 50 per cent seats for women in all nominated‌ posts, legislatures," Vijayasai Reddy opined. Vijayasai Reddy appealed to the Central Government to work towards drafting a law in this direction.