Women’s reservation bill to be introduced in Indian parliament
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Monday approved for introduction in the Rajya Sabha the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill. The nod came at an emergency meeting convened by the Prime Minister at his residence late in the evening and the Bill will be tabled on Tuesday.
The understanding is that the proposed legislation will be introduced and referred to the Standing Committee, before which political parties can raise their objections. Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad is reported to have said his party had a point of view that needed to be accommodated and other alternatives could be looked into. However, he was reportedly told that the Bill — in its original form — was only being introduced as it was the commitment of the United Progressive Alliance in the Common Minimum Programme, and all issues could be raised before the Standing Committee. The Bill was originally drafted and introduced in Parliament in September 1996 when H.D. Deve Gowda was Prime Minister in the United Front government (To read interview with Dr Ranjana Kumari, please click here). Two options The Law Ministry has prepared two drafts, the first envisaging reservation of 33.3% seats for women within the existing strength of Parliament and Assemblies and the second calling for increasing their strength by 33.3%. Under the second option, the strength of the 545-member Lok Sabha increases to 900. An alternative was also suggested by the Election Commission, making it mandatory for parties to reserve seats for women in each State. This would involve amendment to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the parties could lose recognition if they failed to provide reservation. The other options suggested were rotation and sharing of seats, which were, however, not acceptable to women’s groups. The Bill, introduced in 1996, was sent to a joint Parliamentary Committee headed by Left MP Geeta Mukherjee but it lapsed when the United Front government fell. When it was again introduced in 1999 by the then Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, during the NDA regime, the Bill was snatched from his hands and torn up with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Lok Jan Shakti Party and the Janata Dal (United) opposing the proposed legislation and insisting on reservation within reservation from the minorities and backward classes. No dodging anymore, please Women activists on Monday staged an impromptu dharna outside Parliament demanding that the Women’s Reservation Bill be introduced in the ongoing session itself. Leading the protest, the former MP, Subhashini Ali, said it was a paradox that the government was still keen on going ahead with the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal though there seemed to be no majority support for the move. But the Women’s Bill was still not being introduced in spite of many parties favouring it (To read more, please click here). Welcoming the announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on introduction of the Bill this session, the women’s groups said nothing less than its swift passage would satisfy all those who were supporters of not only gender justice but also inclusive democratic processes. “We urge the United Progressive Alliance government not to adopt any further delaying tactics.” According to Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women, though women had been fighting for this just demand for more than 12 years, successive governments have failed to pass the Bill. The UPA’s Common Minimum Programme contains this promise, but no sincere effort has been made to fulfil it. Whenever the issue came up, the government tried to delay the Bill taking cover under consensus. The delay in bringing in the Bill for a debate showed the lack of political will and commitment on the part of the UPA government, Ms. Raja said. The activists who staged the protest belonged to the All-India Democratic Women’s Association, the National Federation of Indian Women, the Joint Women’s Programme, the Muslim Women’s Forum, the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, the Young Women’s Christian Association and the Guild of Services. Concerns Separately, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury appealed to all parties to allow the government introduce the Bill in its original form in the Rajya Sabha. He said a debate could be held on the floor of the House. “We have been saying for the past 10 years that the Bill should be introduced in its original form. Whatever issues other parties have with it [the Bill] should be discussed as part of the debate in Parliament.” Yechury told a press conference that the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party were opposed to the Bill, as they had certain concerns related to it. However, these could be discussed through amendments also. “I am appealing to all political parties not to prevent introduction of the Bill in the name of their objections and modifications, which can be debated on the floor of the House.” Source: The Hindu |
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