Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on May 7 hit out at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre for not committing itself to the passing of the Bill on reservation for women and "allowing it to pass away", and suggested that it should be passed in the current session of Parliament itself without any further ado.

"If necessary, the Bill could be passed in a joint session of both Houses as was done in the case of Prevention of Terrorist Act (POTA). The security of Indian womanhood is as important as the security of the state," she said in a statement.

The arguments against the bill in its present form as being elitist or seeking reservation within reservation as a bid to protect the weaker sections and minorities, or that the government made no attempt to consult various political parties to bring about consensus, "are just flimsy ploys to jettison the bill," she said, adding the scuttling of the bill was "indeed tragic and shows Indian democracy in poor light."

PTI