Chennai, March 12 (IANS) Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK have sprung into action, now that the women’s reservation bill is just a step away from being passed. Both parties have decided to groom their women cadres to fight elections.
The ruling DMK is planning to hold camps across the state to empower its women cadres.

“We plan to train DMK party women in various aspects of governance. We want to groom our party women so that they are ready as and when the 33 percent reservation for women comes into effect,” Kanimozhi, party Rajya Sabha member and daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, told IANS.

Tamil Nadu has already reserved 33 percent of seats in local bodies for women and such camps will be useful for DMK cadres, she said, adding that a three-day camp was held in Nilgiri district in October for women party cadre from Coimbatore, Tirupur and Nilgiri districts.

AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa said in a statement issued here Friday: “When the women’s reservation bill becomes law, we will need women of calibre to take up positions in the state legislature and parliament.

“The AIADMK will take the necessary steps towards grooming and developing women of substance for a positive political role in the future.”

The women’s reservation bill was passed in the upper house of parliament, Rajya Sabha, March 9. Now it awaits the nod of Lok Sabha. It will reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

Jayalalitha said: “A committee is being constituted to work out the curriculum, training modules and modalities of the training programme for women who will, under this programme, be trained in elocution, basic law, basic financial management and the basics of administration and political science.”

The former chief minister said the AIADMK government under her leadership was instrumental in establishing all women police stations in Tamil Nadu.

“Even a Women’s Commando Unit and an All Women Police Battalion were set up by my government. I issued an order by which the mother’s name could also be used by a person as her or his initials,” Jayalalithaa said.

Citing her government’s decision to introduce a new terminology ‘kudimagal’ (feminine gender) as a synonym for ‘kudimagan’, the Tamil word for citizen, Jayalalithaa said the Women’s Self Help group movement was given an impetus during her rule.