On Women's Bill, Sonia Gandhi, Kanimozhi Lead Charge, Smriti Irani Replies

The new Parliament reverberated with explosive speeches from women MPs Wednesday during a heated debate on the women's reservation bill. Ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, DMK MP Kanimozhi, and the NCP's Supriya Sule ripped into the government for failing to respect women, while Union Minister Smriti Irani replied by declaring the government had "made women count". Mrs Gandhi opened the seven hours put aside for discussing this bill - which proposes a 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, but not before the 2029 national election - with a call for a quota (within the larger quota) for women from Other Backward Classes.