UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the passage of Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha could not have been possible without the support of DMK.

“It could not have been possible without his (DMK president M Karunanidhi) support,” Sonia said at the inauguration of the new Tamil Nadu Assembly and Secretariat complex in Chennai, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Describing Karunanidhi as “a pillar of strength” to the UPA, Gandhi said ever since the inception of the coalition, of which DMK is a key partner, the Prime Minister and she always looked for his “wise counsel and advice”.

The Prime Minister always contacted Karunanidhi to seek his advice on important national issues, she said.

“We greatly appreciate his support and his wise counsel,”
Gandhi said legislatures should preserve the federal structure of the Constitution and transfer some of their powers to the panchayats to enable the elected representatives to be part of inclusive growth of the country.

Pointing out that it was Tamil Nadu which paved the way for the first women representative in legislature by nominating Muthulakshmi Reddy way back in 1927, she said the state legislature had a unique tradition.

Paying rich tributes to tall leaders from Tamil Nadu like late C Rajagopalachari, K Kamaraj, C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran, she said they contributed greatly for the growth of Parliamentary democracy in the country.

via ddinews.com