The lower house of Parliament elected Meira Kumar, a former diplomat and five-term Congress party lawmaker, as Speaker, the first time a woman has been chosen to run a male-dominated chamber known for its rowdy debates and frequent walkouts. Kumar, 64, the only candidate and had the support of the ruling Congress-led coalition and the alliance led by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Her appointment as Speaker, or presiding officer, was announced by stand-in speaker Manik Rao Gavit in the Lok Sabha, or lower house, in New Delhi. India has had a woman Prime Mininster, Indira Gandhi, while its sitting President, Prathiba Devsingh Patil, and the leaders of four of its leading political parties are women. Sonia Gandhi, Indira,s daughter-in-law, heads the congress. The house Kumar will preside over contains 59 woman lawmakers, the most ever, comprising about 10 per cent of the total 543 elected members. Legislative efforts to reserve a third of seats in the lower house and state assemblies for women have stalled. She is the daughter of the late former deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram, and holds a law degree.
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| Author: Abdul Razzaq 09 Jun 2009 | Member Level: Gold Points : 2 |
Congratulaions to Meera Kumar,
At last congress is fulfulling its promise towards womens reservation bill.Its the start First, President of India is Women now Speaker of Loksabha is Women.Congress party President is also a Women.Its the start towards Women Reservation Bill.I think it will also be passed in this term of loksabha.
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