 "BJP")
When half of India's population will contribute in policy decisions and feel empowered, the speed of the country's progress will double, BJP leader Mahesh Sharma said on Friday, lauding the passage of the women's reservation bill in Parliament.
The Lok Sabha MP from Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "completing" a "long-pending" work.
The bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received the parliamentary nod on Thursday as the Rajya Sabha unanimously voted in its favour. It will now require the approval of a majority of the state assemblies.
The 128th Constitution amendment bill will be implemented after a delimitation exercise to redraw parliamentary and Assembly constituencies based on the census, which the government has said will be commissioned next year.
"This bill is going to be a historic milestone. When half of the country's population (women) will contribute in policy decisions and feel empowered, the country will progress at double the speed," Sharma told reporters in Delhi.
"This was a long-pending issue. The prime minister has honoured 'matru shakti'. In Indian tradition, women have been respected in the form of (goddesses) Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The prime minister has accomplished a huge job by taking ahead this legislation," he said.
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