The decades of wait for women to get reservation in Parliament and state assemblies will soon end as the women’s reservation cleared the first hurdle with the passage of the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The bill will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha.
Members of Parliament across party lines come together to support the historic legislation during 5-day special session. After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, as many as 454 MPs voted in favour of the bill while only two were against it.
The bill was passed as per the provisions of Article 368 (2) of the Constitution relating to the passage of constitutional amendment bills which requires support of the majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
A few amendments moved by the government relating to the numbering of the Constitution amendment bill were also cleared by the House. When the proposed legislation goes to Rajya Sabha for its consideration, it will be called the Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, officials said.
Twenty-seven women members cutting across party lines participated in the debate on the bill, with BJP legislators coming out in support of it and the opposition members demanding its immediate implementation. At present, there are 82 women members in Lok Sabha, out of a total strength of 543.
Sonia, Rahul Gandhi Demands OBC Quota in Women Reservation Bill
Setting the tone of the debate, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a strong pitch for bringing OBC women into the ambit of the proposed law and asserting that any delay in bringing the reservation into effect would be “gross injustice” to women.
She said that the bill was a dream of her late husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who made attempts to grant reservation to women in local bodies in 1989 but failed.
Rahul Gandhi said he would like to see the OBC reservation included in the women’s reservation bill. “I think it is very important that a large chunk of India’s population should have access to this reservation and that is missing in this bill,” he said.
Shah Shares Reason Behind Delay in Implementation
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said women’s empowerment is not a political issue for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah said this was the fifth attempt to push a bill for women’s reservation. “Why did it fail to clear hurdles earlier? First it was brought by H D Deve Gowda government in 1996. It lapsed. Second time, it was brought by the government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2008, a bill was brought by UPA. It also lapsed after the dissolution of the then Lok Sabha.”
On the delay in the bill’s implementation, Shah said, “There are many questions as to why so late, why OBC is not included etc. I will answer all these questions. The Delimitation Commission is a quasi-judicial body that plays a crucial role in our elections. Now if 1/3 of seats have to be reserved, who will decide these seats? If Wayanad gets reserved for women, what will you say? If Hyderabad gets reserved, what will Owaisi sahib say? It’s best that this happens only after following proper procedure.”
The Home Minister said the Modi government has been pushing for empowerment of women since the day it assumed office. Women’s security, respect and equal participation have been life force of the government, he said.
ALL ABOUT THE WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL
The Women’s Reservation Bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for women.
Moreover, one-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be reserved for women from those groups. These reserved seats may be allotted to different constituencies in the state or union territory by rotation.
The Bill adds that the reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act.
The demand for women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies goes back to decades and there have been debates on the issue in the Constituent Assembly after the Independence.
(with PTI inputs)
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