Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up the Women’s Reservation Bill for consideration. The Bill seeks to provide one-third reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in this regard yesterday on the first day of proceedings of the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament Building. The legislation will be called Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
Moving the Bill, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, it is a step towards women empowerment and it will enhance their dignity by ensuring equality of opportunities. He said the present government has taken several steps towards removing social and economic inequalities in the country by implementing several schemes ensuring equality for women. Initiating the discussion, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said her party supports this legislation. Highlighting the role of Indian women, she said, women’s patience is like the ocean and she works for everyone’s betterment like a river. Recalling the contributions of great leaders Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Mrs. Gandhi said, that women played an important role in the freedom struggle and in the formation of modern India. She demanded that the women’s reservation Bill be implemented immediately with a sub-quota for SCs, STs, and OBCs by conducting the caste-based census. The Congress leader also said, that any delay in implementing the women’s reservation Bill will be an injustice to Indian women. She also demanded that the Government work towards removing every obstacle in the effective implementation of this Bill. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi of DMK also supported the Bill. She said, the Women’s Reservation Bill is a poll promise of the BJP, yet, many leaders had to urge them to bring this Bill and pass it. She raised questions about the actual implementation of this Bill. She also raised questions over not conducting the decadal census saying that if delimitation is going to be based on population census it will deprive and reduce the representation of Southern States. Rajiv Ranjan Singh of JD(U) said, provisions must be made to provide reservation to other backward classes under the Women Reservation Bill. He alleged that the Government is opposing the caste-based census. Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of Trinamool Congress raised the issue of atrocities against women by demanding strong action against the perpetrators. Supriya Sule of NCP demanded the government provide reservations for SC, ST, and OBC under the Women Reservation Bill. Echoing the same view, Dimple Yadav of the Samajwadi Party asked the question of whether the provisions of this Bill will be applicable to Rajya Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad. She also raised concern over the immediate implementation of the provisions of the Bill before the 2024 General Election.
BJP MP Dr. Nishikant Dubey said, the provisions of this Bill will definitely be implemented. Countering the allegations of the Congress party, he said, census and delimitation would be conducted and accordingly, the reservation would be provided to the women. Union Minister and Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel said, it is unfortunate that today women’s representation in Lok Sabha stands at 14 per cent and 11 per cent in Rajya Sabha. She said, this Bill is an important step to increase women’s representation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Jagdambika Pal of BJP termed this Bill historic saying that this Bill will increase representation of women in policy making and governance.
Geetha Viswanath Vanga of YSR Congress, Rajashree Mallick of BJD, Sangeeta Azad of BSP, Nama Nageswara Rao of BRS, Bhawana Gawali of Shiv Sena, Jaskaur Meena of BJP, K. Subbarayan of CPI and others also spoke on the Bill. Discussion is underway.
