At a time Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is taking care to avoid mentioning of women’s reservation issue in the `Amaravati Declaration’, to be adopted at the end of three-day National Women Parliamentary Summit, his ministerial colleague Paritala Sunitha has invoked the legacy of TDP’s founder and Naidu’s father-in-law N T Rama Rao, giving a call for a long struggle to achieve this long pending issue.

AP Assembly Speaker Dr Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, who is the main organiser for this first-ever women summit in the country, has recently clarified that they do not want to bring `controversial’ issues in the Amaravati Declaration. Though the issue of women’s reservation would be discussed at the summit, he said this will not be included in the final declaration.

However, flagging off a women’s rally in Anantapur, which is a prelude to the Women Summit, Civil Supplies Minister Sunitha said that NT Rama Rao was the first to espouse the cause of women. He was the one to pass a law in the Assembly extending 33 per cent reservations to women in all spheres of life, she added.

She also has tactfully mentioned Chandrababu Naidu stating that it was he who spearheaded the women self-help groups’ movement. Indicating that women leaders at the summit are likely to bring pressure for inclusion of women’s reservation issue in its declaration, she deplored that despite women being elected as people’s representatives, men are taking over their official responsibilities, defeating the purpose of reservations.

She asserted that women would be in the forefront of any agitation and even fast, for their cause. Joining hands with her in this regard, Anantapur Mayor M Swaroopa also called upon womenfolk to fight for 50 per cent reservations in all spheres of life. She lamented that many legislations made for women’s welfare were not being implemented.