By IANS,
New Delhi : Accusing the government of “indifference and neglect” of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat Tuesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appoint a full-time chairperson of the organisation.
The CPI-M politburo member’s demand came in the wake of its present chairperson Girija Vyas being elected as a Lok Sabha MP.
In a letter to the prime minister, Karat said: “This to draw your kind attention to the absence of a full-time chairperson of the National Commission for Women. The present incumbent Dr. Girija Vyas whose work in the commission has earned her the highest regard and respect, was elected to the Lok Sabha and has therefore to shoulder her responsibilities as a Member of Parliament.”
“The government has shown its indifference and neglect of the Commission by the inordinate delay in appointing a full time chairperson,” Karat said.
Referring to her talks with Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare Krishna Tirath and Girija Vyas during the last session of parliament, Karat, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP said: “Both of them had agreed that a full-time chairperson is required.”
“However, three months have elapsed since then and the government has not taken the necessary step to appoint a new chairperson,” she said.
Criticising the government for denying the chairperson of the NCW the status of a cabinet minister as compared to the chiefs of other similarly constituted Commissions, Karat said this was “discriminatory”.
“The National Commission for Women is not a government department. It was born out of a long struggle of women for a statutory autonomous body to monitor the implementation of constitutional and legal guarantees for women and to intervene where there were violations by the state as also on all policy matters concerning women,” the CPI-M leader said.
“There is resentment among women about the approach of the government to the commission. I hope you will kindly intervene in the matter to ensure the appointment of a full-time chairperson with a similar status as given to chairpersons of other commissions,” Karat wrote.