What Actors Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill Said On Women’s Quota Bill

New Delhi:

Actors Bhumi Pednekar and Shehnaaz Gill visited the new Parliament building today ahead of the release of their upcoming movie ‘Thank You For Coming.’ They met with Union Minister Anurag Thakur along with their other co-stars Shibani Bedi and Dolly Singh.

Speaking to NDTV about the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, or the women’s reservation bill, Bhumi Pednekar said: “I feel very proud to be here and be a part of such a historic moment. It is a beautiful building (the new Parliament). Being a modern, Indian woman, this (women’s reservation bill) is a very important thing for us. Through our films and our work, we have tried to maintain equality for our gender. The messaging of the bill will go far and wide – change is here and our tomorrow will be even better.”

“The bill will bring a change that will help women get better representation. If there are no women in places of power, the policies and laws won’t be proper. The representation will happen now, there is hope,” she added.

Ms Pednekar’s co-actor Shehnaaz Gill said men and women should be treated the same. “It is a big thing for me … Something big is happening for the women of our country and I am here. I am here on a historic day. I had the opportunity to see the Parliament from inside. Not everyone gets such an opportunity. I even heard the debate (on the women’s reservation bill). 

“It is a good thing – the proposal to have 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. I feel men and women should be treated the same. India is growing,” she said.

“It felt nice to see the House proceedings live after seeing them on TV for so many years. We went around the complex and everything was explained to us. I got to see the art on display. It was fantastic,” Ms Gill said.

The new Parliament reverberated with fiery speeches from women MPs today during a heated debate on the women’s reservation bill. Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, DMK MP Kanimozhi, and the NCP’s Supriya Sule ripped into the government for failing to respect women, while Union Minister Smriti Irani responded by declaring the government has “made women count”.