As the women’s reservation bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said it should be a “balance of gender and social justice”. “In this, the reservation percentage for backward, Dalit, minority, and tribal women should be clear,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Samajwadi Party, under Mulayam Singh Yadav, had strongly opposed the women’s quota bill in 2010 when it was tabled in Rajya Sabha. During his address in the Parliament, Yadav had said, “The Women’s Reservation Bill, if passed in the present format, would provoke young men to whistle in parliament.”
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, who had also opposed the women’s reservation bill since the UPA regime, now welcomed the introduction of the women’s reservation bill in the Parliament and urged widespread support for it.
Addressing the media, Mayawati said, “Along with BSP, most of the parties will give their vote in favour of women’s reservation bill… We expect that after discussion this bill will be passed this time as it has been pending for a long.”
Earlier, the BSP had demanded a 50 per cent reservation for women instead of 33 per cent. “I hope the government will think about it,” the BSP supremo said.
Mayawati also demanded a separate quota within the quota for women. “Also, a separate quota for the women from OBC, SC, and ST sections should be ensured in the reservation for women,” she said.
All about women’s reservation bill
The women’s reservation bill, also known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008, reserves 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. According to the bill, one-third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be reserved for women from those groups. These reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
The bill states the reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the amendment act.
PM Modi on women’s reservation bill in Parliament
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pushed for the women’s reservation bill during his address in the Parliament.
“On this historic occasion in the new Parliament building, as the first proceeding of the House, the beginning of all the Parliamentarians opening gateways for women power is being done with this crucial decision. Taking forward our resolve of women-led development, our government is bringing an important constitutional amendment bill…’Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ will further empower our democracy,” he said in Lok Sabha.
