The winter session of Parliament is starting from today and it is believed that the Women’s Reservation Bill, which has been opposed many times, will be passed in this winter session. Several opposition parties, including the JD(U), which had opposed the bill in the past, demanded passage of the bill during this winter Parliament session. During the Business Advisory meeting of the Lok Sabha, MPs like Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress and TR Baalu of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam lobbied for the Women’s Reservation Bill, which promises 33 per cent reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (United) passed the bill in 2010 amid uproar, but the United Progressive Alliance government did not take it forward in the second house.
The bill, which seeks to reserve one-third of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, was first introduced in 1996. After this it was introduced several times. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010, but lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
Any bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses with the dissolution of the House. Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha are kept in the “Live Register” and remain pending.
The demand for introduction and passage of the bill was raised at two key meetings on Tuesday – an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the winter session and a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha chaired by Speaker Om. Birla. BJD leader Sasmit Patra raised this demand in an all-party meeting chaired by Defense Minister and Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh.
Several other political parties including TMC, Congress, NCP and TRS supported the demand. TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary also raised this demand in the BAC meeting. DMK, SAD and JD(U) supported him and demanded that an all-party meeting be called to build a consensus on the issue.
“This demand was raised by several parties in the Lok Sabha BAC meeting and we also suggested to the government that it should call an all-party meeting to arrive at a consensus on the issue,” Bandyopadhyay said.
Echoing him, SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the time has come for the Bill to be passed and women given their due. JD(U) leader Rajeev Ranjan Singh, whose party had in the past strongly opposed the bill demanding reservation for OBC and SC women within this one-third quota, said, “It is time to empower women.” And the government should bring this bill and we will support it.”
On some occasions, some parties and MPs have raised the demand to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, but many parties are raising this issue in one voice after many years.
(with agency inputs)