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Journalism of Courage
AHEAD OF the Assembly elections, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has notified 35 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs except the forest department.
“Notwithstanding anything contained in any service rules, there shall be reserved 35 per cent of all posts in the service under the state (except forest department) in favour of women at the stage of direct recruitment, and the said reservation shall be horizontal and compartment-wise,” says the government notification issued on October 3.
The government has introduced an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provision for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997, for providing the reservation.
Addressing a public event in Burhanpur on Tuesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also said that 50 per cent reservation would be provided for women in teaching posts. “I will recruit 35 per cent daughters in the police force… they will fight goons… Not only that, there will be 50 per cent daughters among teachers as well,” he had said.
With women accounting for over 48 per cent of the electorate, both the BJP and Congress are making efforts to woo them. According to the Election Commission, there are a total of 5.52 crore voters in the state, of which 2.85 crore are men, 2.67 crore are women, and 1,336 are transgenders.
The Congress has promised women-centric policies including financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month and domestic LPG cylinders priced at Rs 500.
On the other hand, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan in August, Chouhan had increased the financial aid given to women under the Ladli Behna scheme from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 1,250, and said cooking gas cylinders would be made available for Rs 450.
Among his other schemes focused on girls/ women are the Ladli Laxmi Yojana, under which Rs 30,000 is deposited by the state government after the birth of a girl, followed by more installments so that the beneficiary gets Rs 1.18 lakh after she turns 30; and the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah and Nikah Yojana, where the state government provides financial assistance of Rs 55,000 to tackle the dowry menace.
Madhya Pradesh was also among the first states to introduce 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and urban bodies.
Last month, the women’s reservation Bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, was also passed by Parliament.
