BSP not to support Women's Reservation

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has written a letter to prime minister pointing out that the BSP was not against reservation to women, but the bill requires some necessary amendments," senior party leader Satish Chandra Mishra told reporters here.

He said the BSP favoured a separate quota for the SC/ST women within the 33 per cent reservation proposed in the bill.

"The chief minister has pointed out that women of all sections in general and SC/ST in particular were socio-economically backward and they were lagging far behind in the field of politics," he said.

"The CM in her letter had said that to make women politically strong it was necessary that women of all sections of the society should get benefit of reservation," Mishra said.

He said Mayawati was of the view that this could only be achieved when along with SC/ST women separate reservation was made for women belonging to backward, religious minority and economically weaker sections among the upper caste.

"The CM has requested the Prime Minister that the proposed bill should be tabled in Parliament after making amendments as per the intentions of the BSP and the UP government," he said.