A day before ED questioning, BRS leader Kavitha sits on hunger strike for Women's Reservation Bill

In what is being seen as a slew of protests, BRS leader K Kavitha, a day before her appearence before the ED, has commenced a six-hour hunger strike seeking early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Delhi. BRS claimed that 18 opposition parties have agreed to participate in the hunger strike. However, apart from Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M), no opposition leader could be seen at the protest site.

"If India needs to develop, women should play a key role in politics. For which, it is important to bring this bill which is pending for last 27 years," Kavitha, daughter of Telengana CM, KCR said addressing her supporters.

The bill seeks to reserve 33 per cent seats in Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women.

On the matter of her appearance before the ED on Saturday, she has said: “I had requested the ED that they can come to my house on 11th March to investigate but they said that I will have to come to them.”

According to BRS, opposition parties and politicians that have agreed to attend Kavitha's dharna at Jantar Mantar are : AAP ( Sanjay Singh and Chitra Sarwara), Shiv Sena, Akali Dal (Naresh Gujral), PDP (Anjum Javed Mirza), National Conference (Dr Shami Firdous), Trinamool Congress (Sushmita Dev), Janata Dal United (KC Tyagi), NCP (Dr Seema Malik), CPI (Narayana K), CPM (Sitaram Yechury), Samajwadi Party (Pooja Shukla), RLD (Shyam Rajak) and MP Kapil Sibal.

"Our party will extend support to Kavitha in this protest till the bill is passed. It is important to bring this bill to give equal opportunity to women in politics," Yechury said in his inaugural address.

Kavitha is one of the representatives of the South Group in the Delhi excise scam which allegedly resulted in kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders.

She might be confronted with the Hyderabad based businessman Arun Pillai who was arrested on Wednesday as Pillai is also from the South Group.

A source has said that The South Group was represented by Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Pillai and Buchi Babu. Boinpalli facilitated the transfer of Rs 100 cr in kickbacks in connivance and in conspiracy with Nair and his associate Dinesh Arora. Now, Kavitha will have to be confronted with Pillai.