Sonia pushes for women quota bill
QUOTA BILL Her demand for 33% quota in Parl finds support from MPs across parties
NEW DELHI: The Congress chief demands early passage of the women’s reservation bill that will set aside 33% seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The Modi government’s maximum governance philosophy should also mean “giving us women our legitimate due”, Sonia Gandhi said in Parliament on Tuesday. The government will have to bring a new bill to extend the benefit as the earlier bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010, lapsed after failing to get the nod from the Lok Sabha.
NEW DELHI: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday pushed for the early passage of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, with the subject finding resonance among lawmakers on International Women’s Day.
Gandhi said the NDA government’s “maximum governance” philosophy also means “giving us women, our legitimate due”, a demand that was endorsed by female lawmakers in both Houses across party lines.
The long-pending bill that would amend the Constitution aims to reserve a third of the seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women.
“Maximum governance is more than just accelerated pace of economic growth. It is also expanding the base of disagreement without inviting retribution,” she said. “Surely, maximum governance does not mean to have double standards in dealing with women’s rights.”
Experts say among hundreds of women’s issues that need to be addressed, an important one is to ensure that they have a voice in the highest seats of power.
At a conference of female legislators in Delhi on Sunday, PM Narendra Modi avoided any mention of the quota legislation. The government refused to set a time frame for bringing a fresh bill, insisting that consensus is needed for its passage.
Criticising the move by some BJP-ruled states such as Haryana and Rajasthan to set minimum educational qualifications for fighting panchayat polls, Gandhi said it denies “for no fault of theirs” a large number of rural women from the SC and the ST their constitutional rights.
“This compels our urgent legislative attention,” she said. The Rajya Sabha passed the women’s quota bill when the UPA was in power in March 2010 amid high drama that saw marshals evicting unruly members. However, the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in accordance with parliamentary rules.
Gandhi said the Congress gave the country its first female Prime Minister, first female President and first female Speaker. Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government is trying to evolve consensus on the bill and expressed hope that it would succeed soon.
THE BILL WOULD AMEND THE CONSTITUTION AND RESERVE A THIRD OF SEATS IN PARLIAMENT, STATE LEGISLATURES FOR WOMEN LAWMAKERS