Naveen had been working for women’s reservation for a long time: Mangaraj

New Delhi: Women empowerment has always been the cornerstone of all initiatives of Biju Janata Dal government, said BJD member Manas Ranjan Mangaraj in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Endorsing the Women’s Reservation Bill and speaking in Odia, Mangaraj said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had been demanding passage of the Bill for a long time.

In 1992, legendary Biju Patnaik, in a historic decision, had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in three-tier panchayati raj institutions, he said. Mangaraj said BJD government, under the chief ministership of Biju Patnaik’s son Naveen Patnaik, increased women’s reservation to 50 per cent for panchayati raj institutions in 2011.

In 2012, Naveen increased the women’s reservation in urban local bodies to 50 per cent. In December 2018, a Biju Janata Dal delegation met at least 22 political parties to seek support for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State Assembles, he said.

In 2019, the BJD fielded women candidates from 7 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha out of which 5 BJD’s women candidates emerged victorious, Mangaraj said. Odisha government, under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, always believed that society, State and nation can never progress without empowering women, he added.