Tag: call-your-mp

Media Release: Shakti -“Political Power To Women”Shakti – Call Your MP All Indi a CampaignDec 27th Saturday 7 PM – 9.30 PM

Shakti –  “Political Power to Women” nationwide “Call your MP” campaign on 27th December 2018, 7 pm – 9.30 pm saw stupendous success! 
This India-wide unique campaign had volunteers, both women and men from Shakti, various individual volunteers and groups across the country reach out to elected Members of Parliament to table and pass the Women’s Reservation Bill. 70 years after a democratic republic, with a meagre ~10% women only in State Assemblies & Parliament, women are the largest demographic that is least represented. Since this winter session is the final Parliament session in this term, this campaign was run to put pressure on all parties to get this bill passed at least now, nearly 30 years after it was first mooted.
Over 500 callers including  farmers, women in corporations, rape survivors, students, women in IT, rehabilitated manual scavengers, women in media, bankers, trainers, researchers, civil society activists, domestic workers, advertising professionals, entrepreneurs etc. participated in the campaign.
This consisted of individual inspired volunteers and over 20 groups across India. The list of groups is mentioned below. 
Armed with a list of MP contacts for the states, and sample call scripts in various languages from website: http://politicalshakti-india.org, callers engaged in diallingMPs for 2.5 hours. 
MPs from Jammu & Kashmir through Tamil Nadu and Assam to Gujarat were reached, spread across 21of the 29 states, including Lakshadweep.
In the the short span of 2.5 hours, the Shakti – Call Your MP campaign called 373 Lok Sabha MPs, of which 128 MPs answered. 126  of the 128 MPs said they support the Bill and will try to raise it in Parliament this Winter Session. More numbers are still flowing in from volunteer callers across the country. Some mentioned that while they support it, it is up to their parties to decide to table the Bill. Many MPs were called by multiple callers; 258 MPs did not pick up the phone or were not reachable. A few MPs had the courtesy to call back when they missed the call, and some had lengthy conversations. The list of supporting MPs is attached.
Tara Krishnaswamy, the co-founder of Shakti on the success of the campaign said, “This is a landmark India wide effort for women’s political rights with a simultaneousoutreach to 126 elected representatives within just 2.5 hours. It is a thumping success to hear MPs who represent the voices of a whopping 192 million people of India say YES to the Women’s Reservation Bill (16 lakhs voters per constituency.) This includes MPs from 23 major political parties other than the BJP supporting the Bill. Many non-BJP MPs including from state parties mentioned that they have been raising the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, including on Dec 27th but that they were not permitted by the House to discuss it. What is stopping the ruling party from passing the Bill when the most complicated Aadhaar, GST & controversial Instant Triple Talaq have been passed? We hope that the 126 MPs will discuss with each other and aggregate the demand in the House, with time running out Shakti will continue to ramp up this campaign until women get their political due.”
Bhim Raskar of RSCD (Resource and Support Centre for Development) Maharashtra, said, “This was an amazing campaign and scores of our Panchayat members and teams participated. The real challenge is to maintain and create more pressure till the bill is passed.”
Shree DN, of the Shakti Team, one of the callers said, “Now when they say the session is getting over, and only budget session is left. We then ask for a joint special session exclusively for the WRB. After all, they do it when they want, now let them do it because people want it. “
MP Dr Dharam Vira Gandhi, of AAP Punjab who had missed the call, courteously called back to said: “Despite many parties raising it in the House today, the Speaker was not giving us an opportunity to discuss the WRB. We plan to meet the Speaker in her chambers today and persuade her.”
MP PK Sreemathi, CPI(M) Kerala said, “We planned to organise a protest in Lok Sabha on the WRB tomorrow or the day after.”
MP Farooq Abdullah of the NC,  not only agreed with 33% reservation for women in the Assemblies and Parliament, he asked for an official letter from Shakti to his office.
MP and Spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi not only agreed with the demand to pass the WRB, she said “We should also persuade for 33% seats for women within political parties.” when called by Archana Jha of Centre for Social Research, a partner in the Shakti: Call Your MP campaign.
MP Dr Prabhas Kumar of the BJD, also called back when he finished his meeting and said that, “Not only is BJD pushing this agenda with the Centre and states, and plans to meet the President on this, it is crucial for citizen groups like Shakti to raise the demand and create public momentum.”
Shakti is a non partisan inclusive platform of women across who have joined hands, regardless of region, caste, creed, ideology and setting aside our differences with single minded objective to get more women elected as MLAs and MPs. Shakti calls upon all men and women that believe in fair representation in politics to join us on bit.ly/shakti-india
Contact: Tara KrishnaswamyNumber: +91 9341941945
We request you to kindly cover this campaign. Thank you for your support!

List of states where MPs were reached: Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Lakshadweep

• Telangana Joint Action Committee
• Jan Sahas
• Women Power Connect
• Centre for Social Research
• Ekal Nari Shakti Sanghattan
• Resource and Support Centre for Development
• Global Concerns India
• Stree Jagriti Samiti 
• Youth for Seva 
• Meghshala 
• Voice of People 
• VFSTR – Vignan University
• RTE Forum
• Campaign for Electoral Reform
• Rural Education and Development Society
• TEDS Trust
• Avantika Foundation
• National Adivasi Solidarity Council

List of MPs who were reached and said YES to WRB being tabled & passed is below the 2 attached pictures: