National Women Parliament: AP governement ignores women leaders for meet

Vijayawada: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has not been invited to the National Women Parliament (NWP), scheduled to be held next month in Vijayawada. Similarly, social and political activists like Medha Patkhar and Brinda Karat, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benarjee, and former UP Chief Minister Mayawati also are not there in the list.

Despite the efforts of the AP Speaker Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, the organising committee was not able to maintain equilibrium in inviting people. Everybody expected that Irom Sharmila of Manipur would be invited. Interestingly, she is not there in the invitees list of NWP. It is also observed that no personalities affiliated to UPA were invited to NWP. When asked to comment. PCC chief Dr N. Raghuveera Reddy said that they are not suprised at the list.

"Nothing beyond this to comment," he added. While TRS MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha and T-Congress leader D K Aruna are in the list of invitees, no other woman public representatives from YSRC are there in the list. Accepting the lacunas in preparing the list, a senior TD leader, who is closely assisting NWP said that as such the Speaker or the Chief Minister do not have any reservations in inviting celebrity women, for their remarkable services to society.