AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday welcomed the women’s reservation Bill tabled in the Lok Sabha.
In a social media post, Mr. Palaniswami recalled that in 2016, former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hiked the quantum of reservation for women in local bodies from 33% to 50%, and in 1991, when Jayalalithaa became Chief Minister for the first time, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had 31 women legislators. He claimed that his party set an example to the rest of the country when it came to women’s reservation in elected bodies. His support for the Bill assumed relevance in the light of his party declaring the termination of ties with the BJP a few days ago.
Expressing happiness over the development regarding the Bill, the AIADMK’s former coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, said the AIADMK had been favouring the legislation right from the beginning, and had supported it even when the Congress was in power at the Centre.
AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran urged the Centre to take immediate steps to start work on the decadal and caste census. He also wanted the Union government to ensure adequate representation of women belonging to the backward classes and the most backward classes.
In a separate statement, referring to the death of a 14-year-old girl in Namakkal after consuming shawarma, the AIADMK’s former interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, called upon the State government to undertake an inspection of eateries and see to it that quality food was being served to people.
