Women's Reservation Bill debate: Sonia Gandhi to lead Congress's charge
The Women's Reservation Bill—proposing a 33% quota for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies—will be debated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi leading the debate from her party. Although the bill is expected to see smooth sailing since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys a sweeping majority in the House and the opposition also supports the bill, both sides are likely to trade barbs over claiming credit for the bill.
It's ours: Gandhi on Women's Reservation Bill
As Gandhi arrived at the new Parliament building on Tuesday, media people asked about her reaction to the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill. She replied, saying, "It's ours, apna hai," attributing credit to the Congress for the bill. Notably, the previous government under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010. However, it wasn't tabled in the Lok Sabha despite being passed in the Upper House.
Kharge's 'weaker women' remark sparks outrage
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said most political parties choose "weaker women" and not the educated ones who can fight. This sparked a war of words, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reacting sharply to Kharge's statement, saying that the opposition cannot insult people like that. "We all have been empowered by our party, PM. President Droupadi Murmu is an empowered woman," she said.
Gandhi wrote to PM Modi for women's reservation in 2017
Congress stalwart KC Venugopal, on the other hand, said, "In 1989, Rajiv Gandhi...first introduced this idea for local bodies. Rajiv ji's vision came into force in 1993. In 2010, during the UPA regime led by Sonia Gandhi, the Dr. Manmohan Singh government passed the Women Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha." In 2017, Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to pass the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. She also assured her party's support for the legislation.
Leaders across parties disappointed over OBCs not getting space
While seats for SCs and STs will be reserved within the women's quota, there's no such provision for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), despite demands from parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD). Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti also expressed disappointment over the government not carving out a quota for OBCs. She wrote to PM Modi, demanding half of the stipulated women's quota be reserved for SCs, STs, OBCs, and backward-class Muslim women.
Women's quota unlikely before 2029: Reports
The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023, introduced in the supplementary list of business, proposes a 33% reservation for women for a period of 15 years. The legislation also includes quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) within the reserved seats for women, and the seats will be allotted on rotation. However, reports say the quota is unlikely to be implemented until 2029, after the decennial Census and the delimitation of constituencies.
