Govt striving to table Women's Bill in next session: Pawar

Batting for women reservation in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, Union Agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said the Centre is striving hard to table the Bill in this regard during the next session of Parliament.

The long-pending Women's Reservation Bill proposes to amend the Constitution to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in Lok Sabha and in all state legislative assemblies for women.

The seats to be reserved in rotation will be determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat shall be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections.

Addressing the Rashtravadi Yuvati Congress conclave here, Pawar said that the UPA-led government will try to table the Womens' Reservation Bill in the next session.

"I have also spoken on the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi. All other alliance partners will also be consulted before tabling the Bill. We will campaign against those who will oppose it. We will ensure that the party which opposes the Bill does not get votes from women," Pawar said.

He also said that the BJP and other Left parties have extended their support to the Bill.

"The benefits of the Bill cannot be experienced in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. However, it is important from the future prospective," the senior leader asserted.

He appealed to the prospective women candidates from NCP to win beating all odds.

"We (NCP) want to win in any circumstance. The 'Yuvatis' (young women candidates) whom the party will field should strive to win," he emphasised.

Pawar also candidly informed the gathering that he was experiencing health issues in the morning, for which he was taken to the Bombay Hospital where he underwent various tests.